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John Muir Outdoor School renamed TRAILS Outdoor School By Kevin Opsahl Updated: Jun 14, 2022 05:28 PM A A The Ashland School Board voted unanimously based on the school’s preference and community input Ashland School District photo John Muir Outdoor School in Ashland will be renamed TRAILS Outdoor School. The unanimous decision from the Ashland School Board Monday capped a process that lasted almost a year, starting with a district-appointed committee’s report issued last year that found the outdoor school’s former namesake, John Muir, had “negative attitudes toward Native Americans and people of color” in his lifetime. Muir, who was not a Rogue Valley native, is considered the founder of the national parks system and co-founded the Sierra Club. TRAILS — an acronym for Trust, Respect, Awareness, Interdependency, Leadership, Stewardship — was one of four choices narrowed down by a committee tasked with recommending new names to the board. “Thank you so much for all of your work,” Board Chair Eva Skuratowicz said after the vote. “It’s wonderful to have everybody so engaged, and it sounds like such a good outcome.” TRAILS Principal Jennifer Parks, who let her daughter stay up late in anticipation of the vote, responded that the board decision was “exciting news, and I can’t wait to share it.” On Tuesday afternoon, she did, with a district-issued news release announcing the decision on the all-inclusive name. “The TRAILS Outdoor School community can celebrate a new name that is welcoming to all students and will inspire them to be the change they want for the world,” the statement read. “This name represents the importance of these attributes and celebrates trails as a source of discovery and exploration (and) also aligns with the school mission for students to deepen their connection with the Earth through integrity, the arts, stewardship and authentic learning experiences.“ Weeks earlier, Parks oversaw a poll conducted among everyone with her school to determine which name they preferred to put forward to the board. The top choice was TRAILS, and the second was Ashland Outdoor School. Those two choices were the ones the school board deliberated on starting May 11, but it stopped short of making a decision on a new name and instead issued a second survey, asking the school — and community members who might send their children there — which name they preferred. The study, conducted by the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion office, surveyed 75 people, including current and former students, staff members, parents and community members. The results of that second survey, shared Monday night, were overwhelmingly in favor of Ashland Outdoor School. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed preferred that name over 32% for TRAILS. During the meeting, board members noted the discrepancy between the outdoor school’s poll and the results of the second survey. One board member, Victor Chang, chalked it up to the fact that the latter effort involved more people not associated with the school who might have been “new” to the renaming process. Whatever the case, the survey results didn’t stop the board from having a discussion about the two names. One point of inquiry was over the name TRAILS, an acronym. Some board members admitted they and others on the renaming committee could not remember what each letter stood for and whether that meant the community would over time, as well. They also wondered about how the name would look on student transcripts and the new school sign. “I have a hard time with all of the capitals — it’s just the grammar person in me,” Skuratowicz said. “I kind of wish it was a capital T and lower case the rest of the word.” But, she said, “I understand the desire,” and “I support it.” Other board members, such as Rebecca Dyson, felt there were definite pluses to having the outdoor school be named TRAILS. “I love the name ‘Ashland Outdoor School,’ but we already have AMS (Ashland Middle School), we really have AHS (Ashland High School), and nobody’s going to end up using all of those syllables (if it’s named Ashland Outdoor School), and they end up calling it ‘AOS,’ and it kind of gets lost in the shuffle,” she said. “TRAILS is so unique and so fitting.” Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.