NY School Officially Renamed for President Obama
AP, February 4, 2009
HEMPSTEAD, New York: Students got their wish Wednesday as their school was officially renamed Barack Obama Elementary School.
School officials believe it is the first in America to be renamed for the 44th president, and they said the idea to change the name of Ludlum Elementary School came from the children themselves.
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{snip}[When] the president was inaugurated last month all 460 students were given navy blue sweatshirts emblazoned with “Barack Obama Elementary School–Yes We Can.”
The school’s enrollment is 62 percent Hispanic and 36 percent black.
Nine-year-old Emily Philbert, who dreams of becoming a doctor, says her classmates felt it was important to honor Obama “because now we finally have our first African-American president. Since I’m an African-American girl myself, that’s a huge honor.”
