UPDATE: Fayette schools could choose this new name for century-old middle school

After several months of community suggestions, the Fayette school board is being asked to decide in late April that Lexington Traditional Magnet School’s name should be renamed to simply Lexington Middle School.

School board members were given a presentation about the recommendation from school staff at Thursday’s school board planning meeting. The vote is set for April 28.

Among five other names that had been suggested were Emmanuel “Manny” Caulk Middle School, for the former Fayette superintendent who died in 2020, and Helen Caise Wade Middle School, for the first Black student to integrate Fayette County Schools.

In a presentation, Principal Bryne Jacobs said the largest percentage of students, staff and family members who shared an opinion preferred the name Lexington Middle School while the largest percentage of the community who offered an opinion wanted the school named after Wade. Among that group, Lexington Middle School was the second choice.

The rationale for the new name Lexington Middle School, according to the presentation, was that it directly reflects the community the school serves, that it respects the schools’ rich history, that it respects the pride of past names including Lexington Senior High School, Lexington Junior High and Lexington Traditional Magnet Middle and allows for positive rebranding.

The district aims to transform the school into a downtown academic and arts powerhouse.

The school, at Fourth Street and North Limestone, has served East End Lexington for more than a century. It opened its doors as Lexington Senior High School, the first high school in Fayette County, in the early 1900s.

One goal of the naming project was to help restore pride in LTMS, located downtown, as a vital, positive and storied part of the Lexington educational community, officials have said.

This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 9:43 AM.