Several local schools named after significant people; re-naming
process begins for Las Animas
Gilroy – The school district’s in the market for a new name.
In 2007, Las Animas Elementary School won’t simply sit in a new location, housed in a new facility. It will also wear a brand new name tag. Last week, the Gilroy Unified School District unanimously approved the establishment of a citizen’s advisory committee in charge of agreeing on a new name for the school and thus kicked into gear the first piece of the renaming puzzle.
District Superintendent Edwin Diaz said he thinks the move merits a new designation since Las Animas will no longer be located adjacent to the park of the same name. Instead, the school’s replacement will be built on Luchessa Avenue in southwest Gilroy.
In order to change the name the district must assemble a committee comprised of two district officials, two students and three community members. The board policy applies to the naming or renaming of any district facility or athletic field.
According to the policy, the committee must abide by the following criteria when renaming a school: individuals who have made major contributions to local schools or the city; have state, national or worldwide significance; a reflection of the geographic area where the facility is located, historic significance or a former school that was demolished.
Once the committee is assembled, any individual or group may submit names for consideration and the significance of that person. The committee will submit their selections to Diaz and he will present them to the board for approval.
The board may override the committee step if an individual made an “extraordinary contribution” to the school district and instead make a motion to name the facility, building or field after the donor. Such was the case with Christopher High School whose namesake donated a substantial plot of land to the district.
The following is a little history lesson on school names. Most of the information was provided by the Gilroy Historical Museum.
Antonio Del Buono
Elementary School
Antonio Del Buono was born in 1900 in El Paso, Texas to immigrant parents. His father was an Italian native and his mother was born and raised in Mexico.
Although Del Buono dropped out of school in the third grade when his dad died, to help support the family, he was a strong advocate of education. In his later years he went back to school and attended night classes.
He eventually earned his diploma and a certificate of achievement in horticulture. He also put his children through college.
“I value education because it is one of the greatest opportunities presented to the poor and underprivileged,” Del Buono said in a circa 1971 Gilroy Dispatch article. “Good education makes a good citizen.”
As a young boy, the Texas native traveled to Mexico where he worked as a farm laborer. And according to the Dispatch article, when Del Buono moved to the Garlic Capitol he “immersed himself in Gilroy life.”
In Gilroy, he attended school board and Gavilan College meetings and served as community service supervisor for Gilroy’s California Rural Assistance Office, an organization that gave legal aide to the poor. He also worked with the United Farm Workers throughout his life.
He died in 1975.
Ascencion Solorsano Middle School
Ascencion Solorsano was the last pure bred Ohlone Indian, a medicine woman who in the Ohlone dialect was called Hoo Mon Twash, according to the United States Geographical Survey Web site.
She died in San Juan Bautista in 1930 at the age of 83. The Ohlone tribe lived throughout the San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Monterey bay areas and Santa Clara County.
Brownell Middle School
The west side middle school’s namesake is Elmer E. Brownell, who spent 30 years as a principal and superintendent in Gilroy during the early 1900s.
Eliot Elementary School
In the late 1920s the Gilroy school district decided to follow the lead of urban areas and name schools after prominent educators. Eliot was originally tagged “Old Gilroy Street School,” when it opened in February of 1927 but it was soon changed to Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909.
Jordan School, which is no longer in existence, was given the name of the president of Stanford University David Starr Jordan.
Las Animas Elementary School
Spanish for “the souls.” The soon-to-be demolished school and the adjacent park were both built on a Spanish land grant owned by Mariano Castro.
El Roble Elementary School
Spanish for “the oak tree” was also built on a Spanish land grant.
Luigi Aprea Elementary School
Luigi Aprea immigrated to the United States from Italy at the age of 14. He settled in New York City and was drafted into the U.S. Army his senior year in high school.
Aprea spent 20 years in the military and fell in love with California when he was stationed at Fort Ord, according to an Oct. 28, 1977 Dispatch article. Post military he spent nine years in Salinas as a vice principal and teacher.
He and his family moved to Gilroy in 1973, where he served as principal at Las Animas Elementary School for about three years. When the district opened a now-defunct first through eighth grade school on the Brownell campus, he was hired on as principal.
Rucker Elementary School
The rurally-situated school, located on the northern most tip of the city, wasn’t originally a part of Gilroy proper. The primary institution’s namesake is Joseph E. Rucker, an early settler who lived in what became known as the “Rucker District.”
The school is now a part of Gilroy and most well-known for its Gifted and Talented Education program.
What’s in a name?
A renaming committee must abide by certain criteria when renaming a school.
– Individuals who have made major contributions to local schools or the city
– Have state, national or worldwide significance
– A reflection of the geographic area where the facility is located, historic significance or a former school that was demolished.
Elementary Schools
– Antonio Del Buono: Advocate of education and was involved in city and education issues. Dropped out of school in the third grade.
– Eliot: Charles Eliot was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909.
– Las Animas: Spanish for “the souls.”
– El Roble: Spanish for “the oak tree”
– Luigi Aprea: Former Gilroy principal
– Rod Kelley: Former Gilroy superintendent
– Rucker: Joseph E. Rucker, an early settler who lived in what became known as the
“Rucker District.”
Middle Schools
– Ascencion Solorsano: An Ohlone Indian medicine woman who lived in the area
– Brownell: Elmer E. Brownell was principal and superintendent during the early 1900s
