Davis school named for César Chávez renamed Monarca Elementary

A Davis elementary school named after Cesar Chavez is being renamed after serious sexual abuse allegations surfaced against the late labor and civil rights leader.

Davis Joint Unified School District trustees voted unanimously Thursday during their regular monthly board meeting to rename the school Monarca Elementary.

The name was one of two options the board considered, with the other being Sí Se Puede Elementary School.

Monarca is the Spanish word for monarch butterfly. The name was recommended by the renaming committee to honor, in part, the school's bilingual identity, with the campus serving as home to the district's Spanish immersion program.

Sí Se Puede Elementary School was also recommended, as it would have continued the school's ties to the activism of Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

The renaming comes after a March 2026 investigation by The New York Times detailed allegations of rape and abuse against Chavez. Since then, local leaders have considered renaming several landmarks and events that carried his name.

Chavez, who died in 1993, co-founded what later became the United Farm Workers of America union with Huerta.