Gladys West may be referred to as a “Hidden Figure,” but her name will be visibly and prominently celebrated at Fredericksburg’s new elementary school.
During Monday’s school board meeting, the board approved a recommendation from a naming committee to name the building — which will transition to the elementary level next year when the new Walker-Grant Middle School opens in the Idlewild subdivision — “Gladys West Elementary School.”
West, 93, was born in Sutherland, Virginia, near Dinwiddie County, and overcame her impoverished upbringing to earn a scholarship to Virginia State University, a historically Black college. She later went on to earn her doctorate and embarked on a groundbreaking 42-year career at the Naval Proving Ground at Dahlgren, where she was instrumental in the development of the Global Positioning System, or GPS.
School board member Matt Rowe (Ward 1) said that the elementary school naming committee met first in late June and consisted of him, fellow board member Malvina Rollins Kay, a member of Fredericksburg’s City Council, a school administrator, two parents and two teachers. They began by outlining the process by which they’d collect names and discuss them.
At its final meeting, in late July, the committee came up with four finalists.
Other names considered as finalists for the elementary school were Marguerite B. Young (who spent more than 40 years serving city schools), Hazel Run (a nearby tributary to the Rappahannock River), and Johnny and Jean Johnson (“beloved educators, community leaders and friends”).
“Currently, our four schools are named after five men,” reads the committee’s rationale for choosing West, as outlined in a document attached to the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
“Choosing a distinguished woman like Gladys West addresses this imbalance and demonstrates our commitment to recognizing and celebrating diverse achievements. To not choose a woman of distinction at this time would signal our acceptance of this imbalance and further solidify it.”
The document noted that West has lived in the region for decades and routinely attends church services in Fredericksburg at Shiloh Baptist Church (New Site).
The board approved the recommendation by a 4-1 vote, with Kathleen Pomeroy (Ward 2) voting against the new name. Pomeroy explained that while she is a feminist and wants to spotlight the women who preceded her, “that said, I believe it’s best practice not to name buildings after people. As that reason, I won’t be supporting [the name].
Rowe said he plans to invite a representative from the West family to attend September’s school board meeting, at which time they’ll formally celebrate the new name.
