Philadelphia Board Of Education To Officially Rename Andrew Jackson Elementary School
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An elementary school in Philadelphia will soon have a new name. Tonight, the board of education met to officially change The Andrew Jackson School in South Philadelphia to the Fanny Jackson Coppin School.
Coppin attended Oberlin College, where she was the first Black person chosen to be a pupil-teacher.
In 1865, she moved to Philadelphia where she served for 37 years as a teacher and principal of the Institute for Colored Youth at 9th and Bainbridge Streets.
The school district says it approved a request by the school community to change the name in late 2020.
"As an individual, core pieces of Andrew Jackson's legacy do not align with or reflect the District's mission, vision, and core values. His actions towards Native American people that resulted in the well-known Trail of Tears,' and his opposition to efforts to limit or end slavery do not align with the District's mission to 'deliver on the civil rights of every child,' especially in a district that serves a majority of students of color," the school district wrote in a statement.