Vote tonight to confirm Ryerson school to be renamed Old North P.S.

Opting against two Indigenous names and in response to a poll of parents, a selection committee for the Thames Valley District School Board in Ontario is recommending Ryerson Public School be renamed Old North P.S. 

Old North was the top choice of three names put forward in a poll of families with at least one student enrolled at the school.

The two other name options polled were: 

The school board held a survey of the three name options from Dec. 6 to Dec. 17, 2021, and again from Jan. 18 to Jan 21 this year.  A total of 363 parents were eligible to participate — each family got one vote — and 214 families voted on a list of three names put forward by the selection committee. 

The poll results were: 

The Old North name, which echoes the name of the neighbourhood where the school is located, will become official if a majority of TVDSB trustees vote to support the selection committee's recommendation at Tuesday night's meeting. 

Egerton Ryerson lived in the early 1800s and was involved in the creation of Canada's residential school system. A push to rename public spaces and institutions that bear his name gained momentum last year after the remains of 215 children were discovered buried on the grounds of a residential school in Kamloops, B.C. 

Sara Mai Chitty is an Anishinaabe writer and activist, and the Indigenous curriculum and pedagogy adviser at Western University's Office of Indigenous Initiatives.

While she respects the choice, Chitty questions how much effort was put into educating the community about the legacies of Webstad and Sinclair. 

"It makes me wonder why those other names didn't resonate with families," she said. "I think it's maybe reflective of where the school is at in their own decolonizing and reconciliation journey." 

Chitty described the Old North name as a "safe bet," one unlikely to stir controversy. She said she's happy to see the school move away from the Ryerson name, something she stated "had to happen." 

While she believes that renaming the school Sinclair or Webstad would have been "an honour" for all Indigenous people in London, Chitty said what really matters is how Indigenous issues are dealt with inside the school. 

In November, Ryerson Public School in Burlington was renamed Makwendam — an Anishinaabemowin word meaning "to remember."

Ryerson University's board of directors voted in August to change the school's name, but has not yet chosen a replacement.