Robert E. Lee Middle School renamed after College Park

A middle school in College Park has undergone a name change after an outcry from the surrounding community.

The Orange County School Board voted to officially rename Robert E. Lee Middle School to College Park Middle School at its Feb. 14 meeting.

The name change came about when Robert E. Lee Middle’s School Advisory Council began gathering community input about a potential name change during the 2015-2016 school year. The school has been named after Gen. Robert E. Lee, who led the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, since it was established in 1955.

The SAC received nearly 1,000 responses through an electronic survey and more than 700 students submitted essays to express their opinion.

Roughly 56 percent of the survey input received was in favor of seeing the school’s name changed, and roughly 54 percent of student essays were in favor of changing the name as well, leading the SAC to vote on a name change in January to bring before the Orange County School Board. College Park Middle School beat Lee Middle School and Edgewater Middle School as the top choice.

The majority of residents who spoke on the issue at the Feb. 14 meeting were in favor of the name change, noting that a name like College Park Middle School is more inclusive to its students of African-American descent.

“Choosing a name that is inclusive and community-focused will show our kids the appropriate way to change a negative past to a positive future,” Orlando resident Cynthia Psarakis, president of the Lee Middle PTSA and parent of a seventh-grader.

“My support for changing the school name doesn’t imply a disrespect to Robert E. Lee. On the contrary, as a native-born southerner and a civil war buff, I have great respect for General Lee’s integrity.”

Other residents said the current name reflects a historical figure that should be recognized and memorialized – and that the name should remain.

“This is my heritage, this is my history, this is what I grew up with,” said Orlando resident Texann Ivy Buck, who attended Robert E. Lee Middle School as a child. “Robert E. Lee was a sterling individual. It’s like taking away the history of what I grew up with … I think it’s sad, because once you do this, then what stops you. You might as well just go through all the people who signed the Declaration of Independence.”

The name change was adopted by the Orange County School Board by a 7-1 vote.

“I think our decision here tonight will send a very large resounding message to our community and I think that message needs to be one of inclusion and one of unity,” School Board Chairman Bill Sublette said.