BY ACS
“Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain” [Oliver Goldsmith]
From this first line of Oliver Goldsmith’s 1770 poem, Auburn’s iconic nickname was derived. His poem beautifully describes the fictional Irish village of Auburn in full bloom. Because of the intentional work and planning of families, businesses, and government leaders, the city of Auburn, Alabama, has also been a village, a city, in bloom for many decades.
The population of our city of Auburn continues to grow, and while growth introduces challenges, community leaders including the Board of Education and the administrators of Auburn City Schools are committed to the responsibility of ensuring the legacy of “loveliest village of the plain” for all students and families in the process of the addition of a second school to pair with Auburn High School.
A survey was sent first to staff members, then to students and finally to the community requesting possible names for the second high school. Over 1200 names were submitted via the survey link with almost 250 unique, viable names. The names submitted by stakeholders were a tapestry of the personalities, history, geography, and legacy of Auburn, Alabama.
The identity of a school resonates primarily through its name. The collective identities of the students who will walk its halls, wear its initials, and compete under its name will be shaped through the name. Knowing the reputation of Auburn High School in establishing a high standard academically, athletically, and relationally, and wanting to secure a strong, unique identity for the future students in its sister school, the Naming Committee reviewed the list of submissions with great reflection and thoughtfulness.
The name of the sister school to Auburn High School, now approved by the Auburn City Schools Board of Education, is Plains High School. Auburn High School and Plains High School will walk into the future with their own unique footprints in our loveliest village, each creating spaces in which, in the words of Oliver Goldsmith, “humble happiness [will endear] each scene” for many generations of students and families to come.
