Here are the proposed new names for Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma
Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma is on track to get a new name.
The Tacoma Public Schools Board of Directors heard the two final suggestions at a study session Thursday evening.
The two names under consideration are:
Hilltop Heritage Middle School
šeqalič Middle School (pronounced shuh-kah-leech)
The names were recommended by a renaming committee made up of students, staff, alumni, members of the Puyallup Tribe and parents.
Hilltop Heritage would reflect the area’s “rich and unique history that speaks to the diversity and inclusiveness of people from various backgrounds,” according to Thursday’s presentation.
šeqalič translates to “high up top” in Lushootseed, a Native American language used by tribes in the Puget Sound region. The area where Jason Lee Middle School is located is traditional Puyallup Tribal land. The “E” in the name is written upside-down in Lushootseed, but The News Tribune’s publishing system will not render that character as such.
The official recommendation from the Puyallup Tribe of šeqalič is to honor the diversity of the Hilltop neighborhood, according to Charlotte Basch, who works for the Puyallup Tribe’s Historic Preservation Department and was a member of the Jason Lee renaming committee.
“The surveys we conducted showed overwhelming support and initiative to use the renaming of Jason Lee as an opportunity to uplift Native communities that continue to call Tacoma and Hilltop home,” Basch said in a video played during Thursday’s presentation.
Basch acknowledged that the Lushootseed alphabet may be intimidating to some, but felt confident in the community’s willingness to learn and that a pronunciation guide could be provided on the school’s website if šeqalič was chosen as the new name.
Jason Lee Middle School leaders embarked on a name-change process in the summer of 2020 after people advocated for the name change, citing a racist history of the man the school was named after.
Jason Lee was a missionary known for the settlement of the Pacific Northwest in the 19th century. He established schools in an effort to convert Native Americans to the beliefs and practices of white Americans. The schools also spread disease among students.
In Thursday’s presentation, Jason Lee interim principal Michael Knuckles said the schools were equivalent to cultural genocide.
“It was recorded that Jason Lee believed all Native Americans had to be assimilated into Christianity, put children into schools away from their families, took away their clothing and made them dress European style and forbid them from speaking their native language,” Knuckles said.
As part of the name change process, a survey was sent out twice in October and November to ask questions of students, staff, alumni, parents and the general community. Out of around 1,200 respondents, 67 percent voted to change Jason Lee’s name.
Students and staff at Jason Lee also voted on the top four proposed names, which included Hilltop Heritage Middle School, šeqalič Middle School, Harold Moss Middle School and šeqalič Hilltop Heritage Middle School. Hilltop Heritage received 45 percent of the votes, with šeqalič around 24 percent.
Board members did not take action on a name change Thursday night but were supportive of moving the process forward.
“I was thrilled to hear from the Puyallup Tribe as to what they thought was a good name,” director Elizabeth Bonbright said.
The school board will wait for a formal recommendation from Superintendent Carla Santorno on a new name before taking a vote. That recommendation is expected to come to the board in the spring.
The district continues to solicit feedback on the name change. Comments can be sent to Principal Knuckles at mknuckl@tacoma.k12.wa.us.
Jason Lee opened in the 1920s and was formerly known as West Intermediate School. The school was the former campus of the College of Puget Sound.
