Former Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) members and other educational professionals are asking the current board to consider renaming its administrative office on Victoria Road to the Martha Rogers Education Centre.
Rogers was the former director of the UGDSB for 26 years and retired on Sept. 1, 2021. Shortly after retiring she passed away at age 73.
A letter was penned to board chair Ralf Mesenbrink to consider changing the Victoria Road administrative office building to the Martha Rogers Education Centre; 33 people requested the change, including many former members of the UGDSB board.
“Each person who enters the facility would be reminded of the dedication and professionalism of Martha as a leader and be challenged to ‘up their game’ since Martha Rogers always set the bar so high,” reads a letter of request sent to the school board.
Rogers had a long career in education and started as a teacher, as many educational professionals do, at the Peel District School Board.
She was appointed the director of the Wellington County School Board. Later on an amalgamation occurred which brought the county boards of Wellington and Dufferin together to form what is now known as the UGDSB.
Rogers was the longest standing director of education in Ontario, said in the report.
She was also involved in the Rotary Club of Guelph for over 30 years.
Some of the criteria under Policy 303 Naming of Schools and Board Facilities to warrant a building name change are:
Name of a person(s) recognized as having made a significant contribution in the district, province, country or world.
Name of a person(s) recognized for their outstanding and enduring contribution to education.
In the letter it states that other buildings within the board and other school boards in the province have been named after former directors like the Grant Evans Education Centre in Orangeville.
The letter is included in correspondence for the board's March 28 meeting.
