Minneapolis' Patrick Henry High School to be renamed "Camden High School"
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis high school will soon change its name after years of debate.
Since 2018, students, faculty and board members have called for a name change at Patrick Henry High School. The northside school's current namesake is a Founding Father who owned enslaved people.
The Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education issued a resolution Tuesday stating it wants the school's name to inspire and welcome all students.
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Effective July 1, 2024, the school's name will become Camden High School.
"I have so much pride in my heart to know like these are the students that I'm representing," said Halimah Abdullah, MPS Board student representative. "And I'm so, so, so proud of Patrick Henry students. They are absolutely incredible."
"Camden," which comes from Scottish Gaelic descent and means "winding valley," is a gender-neutral name that's also the name of the neighborhood that surrounds the school.
The resolution came on the same day that the board approved Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams as the district's new superintendent. Sayles-Adams, the current superintendent of Eastern Carver County Schools, will start her new role in February.
