LIBERTY — The School District of Pickens County’s board of trustees approved “Liberty Primary School” as the new name of Chastain Road Elementary School, effective at the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
According to school officials, the name approval follows the board’s decision made last year for Chastain Road to become a primary school serving all Liberty area students in Pre-K through 2nd grade.
Chastain Road principal Jessica Patterson presented the name recommendation to the board after weeks of discussion with parents, students, staff and members of the community.
“Through the discussions, it was evident that there were not strong opinions on the name Chastain Road Primary or Liberty Primary, but that the majority believed that it would be best to have the Liberty schools all share the same name,” Patterson said. “Many folks even assumed that the name was changing to match the other schools.”
In addition to the name change, the school will also begin developing a new mascot and logo, with feedback from students. The new mascot will be revealed later in the spring, officials said.
“The logo for the current mascot—“Colts”—strongly incorporates a C-shaped horseshoe that may not fit well with the school’s new name,” said John Eby, SDPC Coordinator of Communication. “This is an exciting opportunity for students and staff to help shape the identity of the new school.”
The school’s colors will remain red and black to align with the colors of the Liberty High School Red Devils, he said.
As reported last June, Liberty Elementary School will change to serve only students in grades 3-5.
The name of Liberty Elementary School will remain the same next year, but LES will change its colors from blue and yellow to red and black so that all Liberty schools will have a united same color scheme. LES will keep its mascot, “the Liberty Labs.”
“By changing the name to Liberty Primary School, it truly unites the community and builds pride in Liberty from the start, with our youngest learners in the community starting their school career at Liberty Primary and moving through the schools as ‘One Liberty,’” Patterson said.
