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The Portland School Board unanimously approved the renaming of Jason Lee Elementary School in East Portland to Sunrise Elementary School on Tuesday night.
The board first authorized the renaming process in March 2024, following advocacy from people at the school who said Lee’s values were inconsistent with theirs. At the time, a petition circulating for a name change had amassed about 70 signatures.
Lee was a Methodist Episcopal missionary known in Oregon for founding its capital city, Salem, alongside Willamette University as he led a mission to bring Christianity to Indigenous people in the region. The Willamette Heritage Center notes Lee’s vision for Oregon was to fill the state with “white, American, Christian settlers,” and that even some of his fellow ministers saw his work as a “colonization scheme,” one that subsequently displaced Indigenous peoples.
“That history doesn’t represent our diverse, inclusive school, and it doesn’t represent who we’re raising our kids to be,” says Gabrielle Haber, a parent at the school.
A committee of parents, staff, students and community members selected seven finalist names, and a larger voting process saw Sunrise receive 111 of 483 votes cast for a new name. (Officials say 446 people participated in the voting, and that some voted for multiple names.)
Top of mind for many on the committee was honoring the people who were in the region ahead of Lee’s arrival. An accompanying presentation notes that in developing the new name, they learned that in Indigenous tradition, important places are not often named after individuals, something that is more of a Western tradition.
In a staff memo, district officials estimate the name change will cost about $30,000 as the school upgrades signage, communications materials, and other materials. The school community, officials note, have agreed to find ways to cover and lower these costs.
“We felt the name ‘Sunrise’ captures both our community and our hopes for our kids’ futures,” Haber says. “We’re literally one of PPS’s easternmost schools, but we’re also a school and a neighborhood that’s growing, blossoming and ready to take on a new day.”
