[name of school]
January 4, 2012 § 10 Comments
Before our children were born, my wife and I spent lots of time on the Baby Name Wizard Voyager. If you are expecting, or want something to do for the next 5 – 100 minutes check it out here. It’s rad.
Unfortunately, it does not work on names for new charter schools. That’s a shame because I’m still struggling to find the right word, or name, for the school.
I have experimented with many different names, but none seems to stick. I want it to comunicate an integrated viewpoint: humanities & sciences, the past and the future, constructivism & accountability, newcomers and ‘born & raised New Orleanians” and a level of class integration that is rarely seen in public schools. I also want to be sure that it communicates that this is a new type of school – something different, something dynamic – like an iterative, innovative learning lab.
While I was at Wharton, I had one professor who said that he used to think that company/brand names were really important, but now he believes that they are essentially meaningless, and what really matters is the quality of product or service that people associate with that name. Think about it – it’s really unusual to have an awesome company name in a vacuum: Amazon, Apple, MicroSoft, Intel come to mind. But the names of most companies & organizations are either acronyms, made up/unknown words, or the last name(s) of the founder(s). None of those held any meaning prior to the establishment of the goods and/or services the organization provided.
Seriously, does “Ben & Jerry’s” scream delicious ice cream to you?
Still, I’m struggling to get the name right. If I were starting an electric company, I’d probably just call it Densen Electric like my brother-in-law’s family company. But that’s not done in education circles. I’d love to get some feedback on names I’ve been experimenting with. Please let me know what you think of any and all of these. I’d prefer in the comments section, but I’ll take your thoughts any way I can get them: email, twitter, facebook comments, whatever.
Here are the list of name’s I have already embraced and later abandoned:
Inventus Academy
Inventus is latin for ‘found’ or ‘discovered.’ I also really liked the opportunity to play with InventUs. But the name just doesn’t sound like I school where I would want to send my children to. That’s actually a great test – the playground test. Can you see parents on the playground using the potential school name. As my wife would say, “it’s got to sound good”
Orleans Academy
The longest running school name. It’s simple and inclusive, but altogether nondescript.
GNOSIS
Ancient Greek for knowledge It was supposed to stand for Greater New Orleans School for Innovation Studies. Terrible name.
The Common School
Common Schools were really the first public schools. The term ‘common school’ was coined by Horace Mann, and refers to the fact that they were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions. Sounds great right? Let’s find out what we all have in common. Problem was that Common Schools were: 1) segregated by race, like everything else in those days, and 2) in some places were used to teach the King James Bible to Catholic Immigrants and Native Americans. That’s not great.
The Caisson
It started out as the name for this blog, but lots of folks loved it as the name for the school. I guess it’s okay, since it’s the chamber within which the foundation for bridges are laid, but it doesn’t change. It doesn’t improve over time, and it sure doesn’t sound like what’s coming next. Does it? Lot’s of people whom I respect like this name. I’m luke warm on it.
New names I’m exploring:
The Janus School
After the minor Roman God of doorways and transitions – Janus was always depicted looking into the past and the future simultaneously
Arete Academy
Arete is an ancient greek word that has no direct translation into modern English. If ‘excellence/virtue/knowledge’ were one word, it would be Arete. Definition is awesome, right? There are two problems: 1) It’s difficult to say. It kind of sounds like ‘stop’ in French (not good for a Franco-file city), and 2) I want to get away from ‘Academy’. I would much rather use ‘school,’ and The Arete School doesn’t sound right.
betaSchool
I love this because it seems to capture the idea that this schol is a laboratory of sorts, always testing out new innovations. It also can be seen as a nice integration of classics & modernity (β as a Greek letter and to connote modern tech). Also, I think it could be cool to play with things like NOLAβ. I liked this one so much I, spent time creating a logo:
I don’t like it because I haven’t found a single mom who wants to send their child to ‘betaSchool’
City Community School
blah. generic. could be anywhere and mean just about anything.
Integ Schools (Integ Elementary, Integ Middle, Integ High)
I kind of like this one because Integ isn’t a word, but a root for many words connected to the mission of the school: integrity, integration, integers (math, science, stay with me), but I dislike it because it sounds like the company from Office Space. Heck – Integ sounds like the made up company name from just about every sitcom.
Humanities & Technology
dig it. simple and straightforward, yet contrasting.
Science & Letters
same as above.
The Faubourg School
Faubourg means ‘suburb’ in old French. Many of the neighborhoods in NOLA are called ‘faubourgs,’ meaning the name of this school would essentially be “The Neighborhood School.” It would immediately connote strong ties to New Orleans, but doesn’t quite get at the mission/vision I’m after.
***
As you can see, I still have a long way to go. I remember about a year and a half ago my friends Kate Mehok and Julie Lause were in this predicament and sent out an email to their contacts asking for suggestions. I suggested “Crescent City Schools” to them – I think a few others did, too. I wish I could have that one back.
No, really….I want you to comment. I want to know what you think….
Interesting and fun dilemma, Josh, one I faced not too long ago myself. You seem to like the Greeks – what about the Muses? They’re both a highbrow Carnival krewe and a public-housing project of sorts, though both represent new, progressive responses to old traditions. There could be a downside to associating with either, but if you could get the partnership of both then you might start bridging some gaps. Conveniently for your concept, the streets named after the muses run from some of the most gorgeous homes in the city in the LGD to some of our most dangerous streets.
I also really like the term “Science and Letters” you mention above, but you could definitely incorporate that as well: The Muses School of Science and Letters.
My advice comes with a grain of salt, though; I liked Gnosis a lot too, but that one is definitely ripe for abuse.
(You can see my ulterior motive here is locking this project into an Uptown/Central City location, so that I can selfishly add it to my coverage responsibilities.)
Good luck.
Hey Josh,
Is there a way to put voting tolls under the names?
Anyway, I can tell you which ones I don’t like first: Faubourg: Although it is a famous area of New Orleans and cherished by many, the word means false, so “False” School just seems inappropriate.
betaSchool: cliche –so many things went beta or considered ‘beta’ when they are startups….. but also, betaschool is slang for better school. Sounds uneducated.
What about School of Gnosis,
GNOSIS School of Humanities and Technology
Gnosis Academy of ——-
Caisson School of _____
Caisson (by itself just sounds rad)
Best of luck!
Hey Josh
No to “Janus.” Really cool idea with the doorways/transitions, but sounds too much like a body part (Sounds like “wenus”)
Keep it short. Or if you don’t, keep in mind that whatever you pick WILL be shortened eventually by everyone else. For ex “Humanities and Technology” will become at least “Humanities and Tech,” if not less…
Delta School (Delta for change and of course the River delta)
Vanguard Academy (too snooty)
Newton Academy
I don’t like “Academy” as much as “School” either though. Science and Letters is nice. Sounds simpler (in a good way) than Humanities & Tech. Don’t use the word “Technology” at all actually, too many schools already.
Anyway just a few thoughts
Good luck
Julia
I’m loving Science and Letters. I can see myself saying it, “Caroline goes to Science and Letters.” If you want to extend it, you could say the formal name is the Orleans Academy of Science and Letters.
Jenny
Josh,
One of our Essentials participants this past session shared with us the concept of Kaizen-Japanese for improvement. It’s a process of production used in engineering, manufacturing and management that focuses on the concepts of continuous improvement. I was incredibly intrigued by the concept when he mentioned it and immediately thought of your school-similar to the beta concept.
-Cam
Josh -
Here’s a good article on the types of names and pros and cons for each: http://www.thenameinspector.com/10-name-types/. Also, there are plenty of company name generators online that might help with brainstorming. I personally like Orleans Academy and The Common School best (maybe Orleans Common School?). From personal experience, I would strongly recommend not using one that is hard to pronounce or spell. Good luck!
Max
Josh–
Here are my initial, riffing, thoughts:
– Faubourg Lab School (not to be confused with the Lab School in DC, which I would be a great place to visit: http://www.labschool.org)
– Faubourg Explorer Les
– Neutral Ground Exploratory Academy (Neutral Ground is where we come together to learn)
– Lewis and Clark Academy (Lewis and Clark, b/c of Louisiana Purchase, explorers, etc, though I can see how going west and Manifest Destiny could be seen as a negative)
– Three Squares School (representing Lafayette, Washington and Jackson Square. Maybe translate in to French Trois Carrés or maybe Three Squares Community School).
– The Jazz School (lame, I know, but as much as I’m not much of a Jazz fan, I admire the fact that each performer can be an individual within a structured team song)
I hope y’all had a happy New Year. Sorry we missed you last week.
Josh I just wrote a long reply and then deleted it. What a fool!
I will try to recreate. Firstly I want to caveate by saying that I’m not sure how helpful my thoughts will be on this subject!
1. I don’t understand the ‘Science and Letters’ name. Maybe is it lost in translation to UK English?!
2. I like Delta School. I like the meaning and I like the simplicity of the name. I can imagine pupils saying, ‘I am a Delta student’, ‘Being a part of the Delta community means…’
3. I really like betaSchool
4. I like The Caisson, but I think that is because it is the only one of those name which makes me think of you.
Which kind of goes back to your point about names in a vacum. I don’t think you should worry about mom’s not liking names at this stage. They will buy into you, not the name and the name will become synonymous with greatness.
I wonder if you are thinking too much about the hard aspects of the school (the humanities and technology for example) and should think about the values. Write down the 5 most important values for your school e.g. love, innovation etc. You might get something out of it. I always think that High Tech High is a name that does what it says on the tin. Simillar I guess to The Lab School mentioned above.
Okay, some suggestions that I’m just going to throw out there:
Orleans School of Innovation
Helios School (Titan of the sun and guardian of oaths – could be guardian of the promises you and your student will make to each other).
Caerus School (Greek spirit of Opportunity)
Orleans School of Opportunity
Transform Academy
Orleans Comprehensive School (in the UK our state schools are called ‘comprehensive’ schools as they are supposed to be for all people)
I’ll keep thinking
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