NEW ORLEANS — A project timeline was released on Wednesday after the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) Committee Meeting and NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) announced the official kickoff of its School Facilities Renaming Initiative.

The initiative is in response to recent public requests, and in accordance with board policy, to rename school buildings that better represent the school community, the students, and the future NOLA-PS is working towards.

“The Orleans Parish School Board believes all schools should be welcoming, inclusive, and inspiring places for all students,” said OPSB Board President Ethan Ashley. “Our desire is to ensure the names of our school facilities and the people that we honor through renaming reflect the values of our school district.”

NOLA-PS is looking to finish an initiative that began in the 1990s to remove remnants of a time when all Americans were not regarded as equal.

To date, more than 25 community-based name changes have been made to facilities and school programs throughout the District, but according to NOLA-PS officials more change is required.

“Now is the time to make this change happen,” said NOLA-PS Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. “In spite of the devastation last year brought, we are now presented with a unique opportunity to do better, to rise to the occasion, to recognize the urgency of this moment, to acknowledge the realities of our past and to chart a better course towards our future that prioritizes equity and inclusion for all New Orleanians.”

For more information visit, www.nolapublicschools.com/renaming