Bainbridge Island School District is considering a new name for Wilkes Elementary. Why?

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – Captain Charles Wilkes Elementary has for the better part of a century borne the name of the leader of a key expedition that explored the Pacific Ocean and Washington’s waters.

Now, the school on the north end of Bainbridge Island is on the verge of getting a new name.

Amii Thompson, the Bainbridge Island School District’s executive director of elementary teaching and learning, as well as a former Wilkes Elementary parent, teacher and principal, said it’s unclear how the school took on the Wilkes name but said it has had that title since the facility opened in the 1950s. The district rebuilt the school roughly a decade ago, which might have been a natural time to select a new title. But a name change didn’t get much consideration then, she said. Now the district is angling toward giving the school a new title.

A large committee made up of students, parents, staff, administrators and community members was formed this fall and is working through the process of crafting a short list of names for school board members to consider. Thompson said that following public hearings in January, plans call for the committee to give three to five potential names to the board in February.

Thompson said she regularly received questions about the school’s name when she was its principal: “Why do you have a school named after this person? Do you know who this person is?”

“When you look at Wilkes and you look into a little bit of who he was, what he embodied, it wasn't in line with what we ask of for our students, what we believe in and it sort of just didn't feel great,” she said.

Charles Wilkes commanded the United States South Seas Exploring Expedition from 1838 to 1842, an effort that explored the Antarctic and the Pacific Ocean and eventually circumnavigated the globe. The expedition returned with scientific knowledge, data and artifacts – and no shortage of controversy.

A swath of place names in Washington – including Bainbridge Island’s own name, after Navy Commodore William Bainbridge – still retain labels given by the expedition. According to Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2003 book “Sea of Glory,” which chronicles tales from the voyage, nearly 300 names in Washington can be attributed to the trip.

So why take Wilkes' name off the school?

Thompson said Wilkes stands out for a handful of reasons, noting the killing of a large number of Fijians on the island of Malalo by his expedition in retaliation for the deaths of two of Wilkes’ party, including his nephew. According to Philbrick’s book, following the attack, one man reported that close to 80 men had been killed.

“Through an interpreter, Wilkes lectured (the islanders) about the power of the white man, insisting that if anything like this should ever occur again, he would return to the island and exterminate them,” Philbrick wrote.

Thompson also noted that Wilkes was court-martialed for doling out harsh punishments, far beyond those from other officers of the time. Philbrick’s book records that Wilkes was tried on charges related to the expedition but found guilty only for illegally flogging sailors and Marines. His only punishment was a public reprimand.

Thompson also noted Wilkes’ central role in the "Trent Affair," a diplomatic incident that strained relations between the United States and Great Britain during the Civil War.

Wilkes would later be court-martialed again for other brash actions he took following a promotion to acting rear admiral: "Wilkes was found guilty on all counts and suspended for three years from the navy. (President Abraham) Lincoln commuted his sentence to one year, but Wilkes would never again see active duty," Philbrick wrote.

Said Thompson: “I think that in order to understand hard history and complex history, you can honor that he did do (his surveying work), but also in everything else and who he embodied as a human, that he is not in alignment with what we believe in and that we can do much, much better.”

For now, work is moving ahead to find possible replacement names for the elementary school. Whether the school’s mascot, currently a whale, will change remains to be seen. Historical research will help to identify and narrow the list of possibilities. Thompson also wants to get input from the Suquamish Tribe.

Per district policy, school names are to be known and be significant to the people of Bainbridge Island and may be a special place or name of historical geographic, cultural or community significance. The use of names of living people is supposed to be avoided unless circumstances warrant an exception.

“We have tons of other really good potential options that would be in line with what we think really captures the community of the building, of the students and the staff and the families,” Thompson said. “We're really excited to be able to find whatever that name is.”

Those interested in submitting a name idea can do so through the district's Google Form.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Wilkes Elementary may be renamed by Bainbridge school district