Two Charlottesville elementary schools could have new names by the end of this week.
But only if the School Board can agree.
On Thursday, the Charlottesville School Board will vote on renaming Venable and Clark elementary schools.
The board’s options are limited. For Venable, it will vote exclusively on whether or not to change the school’s name to Trailblazers Elementary School. For Clark, the board will have a choice to name the school either Friendship or Summit Elementary School — or to reject both names.

The board will not consider any other names at the meeting. If it does not accept the new names, both schools’ names will remain unchanged, said Beth Baptist, chair of the School Naming Committee.
There’s still time for community members to weigh in. The board is specifically interested in feedback on whether residents prefer Friendship or Summit as a replacement for Clark.
For more on how the district reached this point, read our previous coverage here.
While we can’t cover every story that’s important to you, we do our best to be responsive to your needs. We use tips from readers to choose which stories to cover, to incorporate information into broader reports or to help us decide how to grow Charlottesville Tomorrow. Here’s where you can tell us what you think we should be covering.

Read more about Charlottesville City Schools
Charlottesville City Schools asked students to rename their elementary schools — but officials are having second thoughts
Students voted to rename Venable as “Trailblazers” and Clark as “Friendship.”
After 50 years of busing Westhaven kids away from their neighborhood school, City Schools votes to rezone Venable
The children in the predominantly Black public housing community have been zoned away from Venable since integration.
The public has 30 days to comment on Youngkin’s new transgender student policies and Charlottesville teachers and parents are weighing in
“The instability is what’s really so difficult to navigate,” said a Charlottesville mother of a non-binary child. “How much danger are we going to be in? How much are our lives about to change?”
More local News
What does a neighborhoods reporter do, anyway?
Charlottesville Tomorrow reporter Erin O’Hare joined The Journalism Salute podcast to talk about reporting for and being part of a community — and why a public bathroom isn’t always just a bathroom.
Charlottesville’s draft zoning map is out — and the city wants to know what you think of it
Every parcel will have higher allowable density under this proposal. Some areas, especially those near downtown and UVA will have much higher density.
A new City Council member will be chosen mostly behind closed doors, but here’s what the candidates told us about their positions
The shortlist of six candidates gave their views on housing density, tax revenue and hiring.
Charlottesville is about to become just the third school division in Virginia to allow its union to collective bargain
“I think the fact that it was sticky and complicated and difficult makes it even sweeter. We had to work really hard for it and it feels really good,” said Jessica Taylor, president of the Charlottesville Education Association.
Why a crossing guard will suggest Charlottesville’s City Council install speed cameras near schools
Substitute crossing guard Adrienne Dent writes that drivers too often go too fast and that it’s time the city takes further action to slow them down.