Lexington’s long awaited new middle school needs a name. People have lots of suggestions

Lexington’s first new public middle school in two decades needs a name and people have recommended hundreds of possibilities, from Emmanuel Caulk Middle School to Madden Middle School and others.

As construction continues on the new middle school on Polo Club Boulevard, district leaders have asked for the public’s help in choosing a name for the building.

A committee invited the public to make suggestions and received 1,100 recommendations. It hopes to provide a recommendation to the school board by the end of May. The period to make suggestions has passed.

The campus, which will serve 1,200 students in grades sixth through eighth, will be Lexington’s first new middle school in two decades. The last one built, Edythe J. Hayes, opened in 2004.

Lexington residents have waited for the new middle school for years, often citing overcrowding in current middle schools.

It is expected to be completed by April 2025, district chief operating officer Myron Thompson said at Monday’s school board meeting.

Although specific attendance zones have not been decided, the Hamburg-area middle school will potentially serve students from Brenda Cowan, Dixie, Garrett Morgan, Liberty and Yates elementary schools, according to the district’s website.

Bill Farmer, a former President and CEO of the United Way of the Bluegrass, is among several people who suggested to school district officials that they name the new middle school after the late Fayette County Superintendent Manny Caulk, who died in 2020 after an illness.

Farmer, now retired in North Carolina, and Caulk had worked together on several initiatives.

Caulk wanted to improve academic outcomes for all kids, not just a particular group of students, Farmer told the Herald-Leader.

“He was able to... galvanize the community behind public education,” said Farmer.

“He challenged me to work side by side with him to encourage people to volunteer in schools... during the period of time that I was with the United Way and working with Manny, we literally had hundreds of people volunteering in schools, “ said Farmer. People volunteered in schools even if their children did not attend there, he said.

“He just generated such a level of enthusiasm about public education that I think it would be a superb way to memorialize him in that effort by naming a middle school after him,” Farmer said.

Elizabeth Powell said she also suggested the school be named after Caulk.

“Naming the new middle school after Manny Caulk would be a positive way to honor and instill the contributions and values of Dr. Caulk in that he had a positive work ethic, commitment towards being a servant leader, and garnered fairness and respect by many,” Powell said. “All qualities of an effective leaders…values that many students can aspire to as they work towards success in academics and in life.”

Bambi Todd was among those who thought the middle school should be named after the Madden family, who owned the farm where the middle school sits.

“The Maddens’ contribution to Lexington, has made it the city it is today,” Todd said.

“The East end of town now employs and houses many families, not to mention the many financial contributions the family has made to this community. Anita Madden is a local icon known nationally for her free spirit, big heart and giving kindness. Her lavish, star studded Derby Eve parties were actually charity events where so many people benefited from her activism,” Todd said.

Amy Minassian said she thought Sir Barton, in honor of the race horse, would be a perfect name for the new middle school.

“Not only was he born and trained at Hamburg Place, but he was the first horse to win the American Triple Crown in 1919,” Minassian said.

Tammy May Dunn recommended the school be named after the late Kentucky historian Thomas Clark.

“He made it his mission to document the greatness of Kentuckians across the Commonwealth through his History of Kentucky,” said Dunn. “I’ve always respected that he shared the good, bad and ugly of our history while still showing the fortitude and extreme loyalty of our people.”

Other suggestions made to the school board on social media included Star Shoot Middle School, Isaac B. Murphy Middle School, after the iconic jockey, and Property Tax Middle School.