Lead Elementary will be renamed as Cottage Grove Elementary beginning next school year, a move that reflects the evolution from what was once an art and design magnet school into a community school working within its namesake neighborhood of San Mateo.
The name change was approved by the San Mateo-Foster City School District Board of Trustees at its meeting Thursday, Oct. 23. School Principal Natalie Delahunt initially proposed the change in August after extensive work with the school community and families.
Delahunt said the name change was initially raised by teachers who felt Lead did not properly reflect the community-driven work done at the school.
“The name reflects our shared story and the future we're building together,” Delahunt said at the August meeting. “Cottage Grove stands for who we are, what we value and the promise that every voice matters.”
The name change will also come with a new mascot. Students will now be the Cottage Grove Cubs, beginning in the school year 2026-27. The current mascot is the owl.
Renaming is estimated to cost the district $5,000, primarily for the main entrance sign on campus. Delahunt said further branding will be driven by fundraising efforts led by the site’s PTA. She also noted that digital tools allow branding to be much cheaper than it once was.
Recommended for you
“Unlike other districts, which I think have received rightful criticism for focusing on brand and not on substance, the story behind LEAD and soon to be Cottage Grove is the polar opposite,” Trustee Gene Kim said at Thursday’s meeting. "We've seen that firsthand."
Lead Elementary was renamed in 2014 from what was formerly Horrall Elementary, which once garnered a notorious nickname “Horrible Horrall.” Back then, the district spent over $30,000 on consultants to deal with the new branding. After the renaming, the school’s library was to be named after former district superintendent Albion Horrall.
The school’s new name was initially proposed as LEAD, which stood for literature, engineering, art and design, but this was ultimately diluted over the years due primarily to confusion and moving away from a magnet school, Delahunt said.
Since, the school has grown into a place where the entire community is served, and its educational practices have continued to grow, Delahunt said.
A new focus on project-based learning and providing holistic services to students and their families should be reflected in a name change that will withstand the test of time, Delahunt said.
“We are not who we were a few years ago,” Delahunt said. “We are really transforming our community.”
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.