Posted by Communications staff on 6/30/2021
It’s not every day a principal gets to meet the person their school is named after. So when Andre Wicks – who will be the principal of the new Carla Peperzak Middle School when it opens on the South Hill in 2023 – got the opportunity to meet the school’s namesake in person, there was no way he could pass it up.
“Once the new school names were finalized, I thought, ‘man, I got to try and meet Carla,’” said Andre. “We’re in a bit of a unique position with her still being alive and I really wanted to capitalize on that.”
After a quick introductory phone call, Andre sat down with Carla and her daughter last week. Andre said it was like “meeting a celebrity.”
“It was just amazing to hear her story and the struggles and hardships she endured,” Andre said. “It’s incredible to think about everything that she’s accomplished in her life.”
Andre continued: “It was really cool to have her daughter there as well to talk about all the different places around the world they’ve lived…and the different opportunities her and her siblings and parents got to experience while doing their work and sharing the stories.”
During the 90-minute conversation, Andre said he was taken by how humble Carla was to have a school named after her.
“She was beyond honored her name was even recommended and suggested, let alone chosen."
That humility, along with Carla’s courage and kindness, are traits Andre hopes to incorporate into the new middle school.
“When we start having [school] design team meetings again,” said Andre, “we plan on having a conversation about the virtues and values of Carla Peperzak we want to emulate in our school culture.”
The team will also think of ways to honor Carla and her extraordinary life throughout the school that bears her name.
“We’ve talked about having a display inside the school, but we have a unique opportunity given the footprint of the school and where it’s located to commemorate her outside with a plaque or wall or a special pathway around the building.”
Carla Peperzak Middle School is just one of many projects that Spokane voters approved by passing the 2018 Bond to help support the change to a 6-8th grade middle school configuration, relieve overcrowding, and accommodate student growth throughout the district. Learn more about the project at www.spokaneschools.org/construction.
