Winnipeg School Division launches survey on renaming Cecil Rhodes School

The Winnipeg School Division is asking for public input on the possibility of renaming one of its elementary schools.

Cecil Rhodes School is named after aBritish imperialist andpolitician who paved the way for apartheidin the 19th century, when he controlled and exploited southern Africa.

On Friday, the division launched an online survey asking for the community's thoughts on renaming the school, which has students from nursery to Grade 9.

The survey, which is also available in paper form upon request, asks respondents to whether they think the name should be changed, and to saywhether the name of the school has had an impact on them.

The survey is the second stage of a two-phase consultation process mandated by the school division's board of trustees in October, the division said in a news release Friday.

The board ordered the division's administration to engage students, parents and guardians and community members on renaming the school. Results of the consultation must be provided to the board by March 15.

The first phase of consultation was within the school, which is Winnipeg's Weston area. The school held an "in-house inquiry" to get student opinions on renaming, the release said.

"We really wanted to have student voice as part of the decision-making process and provide that student voice to our leadership and trustees," said principal Anne Pereirain the release.

"We also wanted this to be a real learning process for our students, so that they could look at all the different information and practice researching on their own."

Teachers were advised to remain as neutral as possible, the release said.

"This inquiry is not about the teacher's opinions or anyone else's opinions," Pereira said. "It's about students learning to develop their own voices and opinions based on asking good questions. That's the basis of all good learning."

Thesurvey is available to all Winnipeggers, including students at Cecil Rhodes School.

The school division will provide assistance from intercultural support workers where needed to ensure equity for community members, the release said.

The deadline to fill out the survey is Feb. 5.