Nathaniel Rochester Middle School renamed in honor of Dr. Alice Holloway Young

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Nathaniel Rochester Middle School will be renamed in honor of Dr. Alice Holloway Young, the Rochester City School District (RCSD) announced Thursday.

The RCSD says it will be called the Dr. Alice Holloway Young School of Excellence.

She was one of RCSD’s first African American teachers and the first African American vice principal and principal.

She also supervised the District’s first integration programs including the Urban Suburban program, which still exists and she was Monroe Community College’s Chair of Trustees for 20 years.

RCSD said it renamed the middle school after a petition with more than 100 signatures was presented to Superintendent Lesli Myers-Small. A community forum was held as a result and seven speakers participated. A petition on Change.org cites the fact that Rochester was a former slave owner as the reason for why his name should be removed.