CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – The Charles County Public School’s Naming Committee held a virtual meeting on Wednesday to gather community feedback on naming a new elementary school.
The new elementary school, currently labeled as Elementary School 23, had three recommended names by the naming committee:
- Margaret Jamieson Thorton Elementary School
- Ronald E. McNair Elementary School
- White Plains Elementary School
The reasoning behind the recommended names can be found in the CCPS’s presentation shown at the virtual meeting.
Along with the virtual hearing, a survey for additional feedback was posted by CCPS.
The naming committee is charged with reviewing name recommendations and narrowing down the recommendations for the CCPS Board, which makes the final decision on the school’s name.
Community Feedback
Community members who attended the meeting voiced their opinions on the different namings.
Margaret Jameison Thorton’s niece was in attendance to advocate for the school to be named after Thorton.
“She is the most qualified for the school to be named after,” Itika Johnson said. “At her funeral, there were hundreds of former students who showed up and were very appreciative of how she taught and cared for her students.”
One community member voiced that the school should be named after the geographical location.
“I think it’s just easy to name the school White Plains Elementary,” John Williams said. “That’s where we live.”
Another attendee echoed the statement about naming after its location instead of a person.
“The White Plains Elementary School is a very good choice,” Nile Milton said. “You can’t really go wrong with that.”
The naming committee will use the feedback from the meeting and the survey to provide an update to the Charles County Board of Education at their upcoming meeting on March 12.
School Details
Elementary School 23 is currently under construction, located off of St. Charles Parkway, at 5860 St. David Drive in White Plains. The school will be located within the new Highlands Neighborhood Development.
The school is set to open for the 2025-2026 school year. The 94,000-square-foot building will have space for 778 students.
A redistricting process by CCPS will establish an attendance zone for the new school. This may also reduce overcrowding at other elementary schools. The redistricting will take effect in August 2025 with the opening of the new elementary school.
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I THINK THE SCHOOL NAME AFTER MRS.MARGARET THORTON SHEWAS A GREAT TEACHER,IT SHOULD NOT NAME BECAUES YOU LIVE IN WHITE PLAINS,THE STUDENT LOVE HER VERY MUCH SO WHY HER LET US NOT FORGET THAT MOST THE PARENTS KNEW HER SHE WAS A PERSON IN THE COMMUNITY LETSUS MAKE THIS CHANGE IN HONORING THIS TEACHERZ