New school named Forest View

EVERETT – The Everett School District’s newest school will be called Forest View Elementary School.

Principal Brenda Fuglevand said the name fits the school’s wooded surroundings.

“It’s just a logical name,” she said.

School board members selected the name Tuesday from four finalists.

A committee of 12 adults, including parents and staff, sifted through more than 860 name suggestions, most from students.

Other top names were Pine View, Polaris and Thomas Creek.

Forest View Elementary will open on the same site as Gateway Middle School, in the growing south end of the district, which includes Silver Firs.

Some of the names that didn’t make the cut alluded to the school next door – such as Little Gateway Elementary and Scott Boal Elementary, in homage to Gateway’s band director.

Many of the names that came to the committee were tied to the school’s natural surroundings.

“It was interesting to see what people wanted in this name, and how it would be connected to the area,” said Cindy Haugen, a committee member whose three children attend other schools. “They wanted a strong name that would stand on its own.”

Forest View came up as a suggestion more than once, parent Michelle Ferguson said. And it fits with the names of other nearby schools, such as Penny Creek and Cedar Wood.

Ferguson’s daughter, Katie, celebrated her fifth birthday this week and is signed up as one of Forest View’s first kindergartners.

“We’re so excited,” Ferguson said. “We drive up there all the time to see the progress of the school.”

In the fall, students will help decide the school’s mascot and school colors.

Most of the teachers have been hired. Currently, staff are busy crafting curriculum and ordering furniture and building supplies.

“It’s becoming more and more real every day,” Fuglevand said.

The two-story building will be about 62,500 square feet in size, with a covered play area and a grass field for school and community use.

Views of woodland areas were an inspiration when placing the school on the site, and the natural areas could be used for outdoor learning.

The school is being built as part of a record $198.9 million bond measure approved by Everett School District voters in February 2006.

Meanwhile, some parents in the Snohomish School District planned to address their school board over dissatisfaction with the chosen name for a new elementary school there.

Many children are offended by the “little” in Little Cedars Elementary School, parent Michelle Hsieh said. “The elementary kids don’t want to be known as little anymore.”

There’s also a play on words that causes snickers, if not concern – Little Cedars rolls off the tongue like the name of a certain pizza chain.

Parent Kim Hall said she and others abandoned the idea of a petition but hoped to make a strong showing during public comments at the board meeting.

She wants board members to reopen naming talks. “The community has a right to discuss this issue,” she said.

Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.

Parents of children who will attend Forest View Elementary School are invited to learn more about the school at 7 p.m. March 26 in the library at Penny Creek Elementary School, 4117 132nd St. SE. Families can: