Naming of New WHS Gym & Auditorium Put on Hold, List of Nominations Released

The School Committee voted to take more time to make the decision about after whom the gymnasium and auditorium at the new Watertown High School should be named, and will come up with criteria to judge the nominations submitted by the public.

The original timeline called for having nominations in by Oct. 7 and the final vote on Oct. 21. On Monday, School Committee Chair Kendra Foley proposed a change to the process.

“We are just one Committee in one moment in history and one moment in time,” Foley said. “While we discussed naming two spaces, on greater reflection I recommend that we only name one space. I think we need to make some room for the next generation, the next group, the next moment when it feels appropriate to name something in our school.”

She did not specify which one would be named when.

School Committee member Lisa Capoccia suggested holding off on naming both facilities. She noted that the School Committee is reviewing its policy for naming or renaming facilities, and said it doesn’t have criteria for naming of facilities.

Capoccia said some criteria could be what degree the work of the person named is tied to education, what degree is the person tied to working with youth, how much the person is tied to function of the space being dedicated, or tied to the values outlined in the Watertown Public School’s mission.

She also suggested a temporary committee be formed to make recommendations, and that it include members of the School Committee, the school staff, students, and also a member of the Human Rights Commission.

School Committee member Jessica Middlebrook supported putting the decision on hold. She said she wanted to make sure that the voices of students and the community are heard, and that the decision feels rushed.

School Committee member Rachel Kay asked why the School Committee had to make the decision a year and a half before the school is scheduled to open. City Council President and School Committee member Mark Sideris said the School Building Committee approved the signage for the new school at its most recent meeting.

“I understand there are concerns, but at some point this committee will have to make a decision,” Sideris said. “We have already gotten a number of names. I don’t mind looking at this point and I think there should be a very robust policy to put your name on something. If the committee votes to put a pause on this I’m OK with that, as well.”

People spent time to come up with a name to nominate and reasons why the person would be appropriate, said School Committee member Amy Donohue.

“If we keep putting things on the back burner then we find ourselves with more and more tasks ahead of us,” Donohue said.

Sideris said the gym at the old WHS was named for former Headmaster John Kelley in the 1990s, but he was unable to find a criteria for how that decision was made.

Foley said she was contacted by people who wanted to keep Kelley’s name on the gymnasium.

“I want to make people aware, no matter what we are not going to let past names be forgotten. Those are important people who added a lot of value to our community,” Foley said. “What we are going to do, no matter what we are naming the space at the new high school, we will be commemorating the Kelley Gym as well as the Shaw Auditorium with a plaque in the new space so we can both look into the future at our brand new state-of-the-art high school but also respect and honor the past and so many people who have added to so much value to Watertown.” 

The School Committee voted to delay the vote on naming both the gym and the auditorium, but did not set a date to make the decision.

Foley revealed the names that had been submitted to the School Committee. The following information came from a memo on the Watertown School Committee website:

At the September 16, 2024 School Committee meeting, the committee invited members of the
community to recommend names for consideration for the new Watertown High School gym
and/or auditorium. The following 17 ideas have been submitted from 42 people, in no particular
order.

1. Eileen Donahue, gym
2. Steve Harrington, gym
3. Sgt. Jeff Pugliese, gym/auditorium
4. Michael Driscoll, auditorium
5. Ernie Thebado, gym
6. Jack Hahn, auditorium
7. Marzaran (the Armenian word for gymnasium), gym
8. Dr. John J. Kelley, gym/auditorium
9. Eliza Dushku
10. Mark Sideris, gym/auditorium
11. Private First Class Richard Moxley, auditorium
12. Ruth Thomasian, library/media center
13. Arshile Gorky, art room
14. Don McGillicuddy, gym
15. Beverly Smith, auditorium
16. Robert Galante, auditorium
17. The high school seniors are given the task of submitting names of people that inspire them and then have a process for voting for the final decision.