SCHOOL DISTRICT AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PALM
BEACH COUNTY TIE LOCAL HISTORY TO NEW SCHOOLS
PALM BEACH, Fla. (June, 2003)--- The School District of
Palm Beach County recently appointed Historical Society
of Palm Beach County president, Harvey E. Oyer, III, to
its school- naming committee, a group charged with providing
naming recommendations for every new school in Palm Beach
County. The appointment demonstrates the School District’s
commitment to ensure every new school in the county is named
to reflect the diverse culture, people, events and history
of the community it serves.
The committee, comprised of at least three
community residents, two students and two appointed School
Board staff, will propose three names for every new school
and present its recommendations to the School Board, who
will vote to make a final selection. Oyer, a fifth-generation
native of Palm Beach County and a noted expert on its history,
will help recommend names based on his personal knowledge
of the area, and research from the Historical Society’s
archived collection of photographs, journals and artifacts
spanning 12,000 years of Florida’s history.
“This is an opportunity to educate students
and the entire community about the diverse history of Palm
Beach County,” said Dr. Art Johnson, Superintendent
of the Palm Beach County School District. “Students
who have a better understanding of the people and events
that have shaped Florida’s landscape are more likely
to have a greater level of respect and pride for their communities
and for themselves. By adding historical value to new school
names, we can help to build an affinity between the students,
the school and the entire community and promote the valuable
role Florida’s history plays in our educational system.”
The school naming committee’s first
accomplishment since appointing Oyer is its recent recommendation
to name a new middle school, 98-EE on Jog Road in West Palm
Beach, after one of the first Native American tribes to
inhabit South Florida, the Jeaga Indians (pronounced Yay-Ga).
The name was presented to the School Board at its April
23, 2003 meeting and approved unanimously. The Jeaga Middle
School will open in August 2003, providing enrollment relief
to Bear Lakes, Crestwood, Jefferson Davis, Okeeheelee and
Roosevelt Middle Schools.
“The story of Florida is one of the
most unique of any state, with many distinct cultures that
have contributed to its long history,” said Oyer.
“Some of the first Native Americans in Palm Beach
County were members of lesser-known tribes, such as the
Jeaga, which flourished in the area prior to the arrival
of the Europeans in the 16th century. This is just one example
of Florida’s diverse history that can be brought to
life through the naming of Palm Beach County schools.”
For more information about the Jeaga Middle
School and the naming committee, contact the School District
of Palm Beach County’s Public Affairs’ Specialist,
Vickie Middlebrooks at (561) 357-7661.
For more information about the Historical
Society of Palm Beach County, contact executive director
Loren Mintz at (561) 832-4164.
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