Here’s the official new name of Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma
Jason Lee Middle School in Tacoma will be renamed Hilltop Heritage Middle School.
The Tacoma Public Schools Board of Directors approved the name change at a meeting Thursday.
The change will be effective Aug. 1.
“We’re responding to our community who came to us to ask for a name change,” Tacoma Public Schools Board of Directors president Andrea Cobb said Thursday. “The action that we’re taking tonight is a result over a year’s worth of work.”
Jason Lee, which enrolls about 600 students, has been undergoing a name-change process since last summer, after people wrote to the school board asking for a change. They cited a history of cultural genocide and abuse of Indigenous people by 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 also was largely insensitive to native culture, establishing a school in an effort to convert Native Americans to the beliefs and practices of white Americans. The school also helped spread disease among students.
A committee made up of staff, students, parents, alumni and other members of the public was formed. As part of the 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.
In February, two names were proposed by the committee for consideration. The top suggestions were Hilltop Heritage Middle School and šeqalič Middle School.
In May, Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Carla Santorno recommended the new name to be Hilltop Heritage Middle School.
While Hilltop Heritage was chosen, the district plans to partner with the Puyallup Tribe to explore ways to incorporate šeqalič into the branding of Hilltop Heritage Middle School.
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, and the name was recommended by the Puyallup Tribe. 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.
Costs to change the school’s name is still being determined, according to district documents. The Bobcat mascot and school colors will remain the same.
