Copyright Chicago Tribune
The new middle school being built on Rohrssen Road in Elgin will be named Legacy. District U-46 School Board members agreed to the name at their Monday night meeting, and will formally approve it Nov. 3. The monikor was recommended by district administrators as a way to “honor the local figures who have made a significant impact on U-46, particularly in our middle schools,” Chief of Staff Brian Lindholm said. A legacy wall outside the main office will celebrate those local figures, and other spaces, including the library, gym and auditorium, could also be named for local educators and leaders, he said. Among those proposed are Emmie Ellis, a former principal, teacher and English department chair, and former school board President Edward Abbott, both of whom have middle schools in Elgin named for them that are being closed. Construction of the new school is underway and expected to be open in time for the 2027-28 school year. The district requested name suggestions from the public and received 372 nominations from 340 people. A town hall meeting seeking feedback on the suggestions was held Oct. 1 and staff also took a poll through Google. “It made me proud to see how many people showed up at the meeting, how thoughtful all the public comments were and how encouraging the people were, cheering each other on,” Lindholm said. Among the proposed suggestions were prominent local, national and historic figures, references to local geography, and terms reflecting values, he said. At the Oct. 1 meeting, Timber Trails Elementary School health teacher Katie Pappas spoke persuasively about why she thought Legacy should be the name. “She said, ‘Choose a name that says you belong here, you matter, and you’ll leave your mark.’ Well done, Katie,” Lindholm said. Board Vice President Kate Thommes thanked the community for its thoughtful suggestions. She liked that among the proposed names were physicist Enrique Fermi and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she said. “When I first saw you were going to do Legacy, I was actually taken aback because I was looking forward to having it named after a person,” Thommes said. “But when I went back and read more about it, I thought this would be a way to honor multiple people within U-46. I was very excited about that.” Board member Sue Kerr agreed, saying she initially felt as Thommes did but also came around to the idea. “One of my favorite things at Elgin High School is visiting their Hall of Fame, where you can see all their great graduates and what they’ve done. That’s inspiring for the kids,” Kerr said. Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
