CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / OAKLAND
An alternative middle school here was renamed in honor of President Obama this week, joining a handful of schools across the nation that have adopted the 44th president’s name as their moniker.
Oakland Unified School District trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to rename the Alternative Learning Community in East Oakland as the Barack Obama Academy.
The school, founded in 2007, educates students who have struggled academically and socially in traditional schools. The name change was prompted by students, who said they felt stigmatized by the word “alternative.”
Schools in Hempstead, N.Y.; Plainfield, N.J., and Compton have been renamed in honor of Obama.
-- Seema Mehta
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