Ontario School Named After US President Franklin Roosevelt to Be Renamed

Children cross the street as they head to school in Mississauga, Ont., on Thursday, April 1, 2021. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

School board trustees have announced F.D. Roosevelt Public School in London, Ontario, will be renamed, attributing the decision to the former U.S. president’s history.

Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) said on March 28 that trustees had voted to change the name of the school at a board meeting that day. The school will be renamed Forest City Public School.

The board said the name change is “part of a broad review of all schools named after individuals to ensure they reflect the Board’s commitment to human rights, equity and inclusive learning environments.”

“TVDSB undertook the renaming process because of F.D. Roosevelt’s historical connection to racism and controversial approach to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, which are inconsistent with the school board’s values and commitments to human rights and equity,” the board said.

“As an American historical political figure, Roosevelt’s legacy also has limited relevance to the TVDSB community.”

The board said there was a public process followed for renaming schools, with school community members submitting suggestions for a new name. A selection committee that included trustees, school members, and individuals from First Nations put forward a short list of three names for a vote from the school community.

“Forest City Public School was the first choice of survey respondents, receiving 51% of the votes,” said the board.

Trustees Leroy Osbourne and Marianne Larsen said the name reflected the TVDSB’s “commitment to creating safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff.”

The school will update the logo, mascot, and all school signage.

In May 2022, the TVDSB name review committee also recommended that Sir John A. Macdonald public school in Toronto be renamed due to “historical ties to racism and discrimination.” According to a Dec. 20, 2022, statement, the board determined that it would seek public input on the renaming of 12 schools, many of which are named after historic or present-day figures such as Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Lord Elgin, Lord Dorchester, and Queen Victoria.

The board said there will be opportunities for public input from the fall of 2023 until spring 2025.

TVDSB had already decided to change the name of Ryerson Public School in a vote on June 24, 2021, and further said it would conduct a review “of all schools named after individuals.”

The school was named after Egerton Ryerson, who helped establish Ontario’s public education system in the 1840s. The board said the educator “was a key influence on the creation of the residential school system for Indigenous children.”

“The overriding context for changing the name of this school relates to the historical oppression of Indigenous people in Canada, specifically the forced residential school attendance by Indigenous children,” school trustee Corrine Rahman said at the time.

“As society changes, we must also be prepared to make changes as a school board that ensure our schools are safe and welcoming places for all our students.”

Indigenous Trustee Carol Antone said: “On behalf of First Nations and Indigenous people, this change is long overdue.”