Board approves 'ATLAS' as name for new ECISD CTE facility after committee survey and community input

Trustees voted to name the new career and technical education facility the "Advancing Trades Learning and Skills CTE Center" (ATLAS CTE Center) after a naming-committee presentation and community survey.

Committee members described four meetings held between December and February, community survey results (82 respondents, 80 in English and 2 in Spanish) and a word-cloud analysis emphasizing “community,” “opportunity” and “future.” Committee presenter Mira Diaz (introduced by administration) and Sierra Searcy, who identified herself to the board as a naming-committee presenter, told trustees the group used community input and board policy-guided criteria to arrive at a recommendation. Searcy noted that she used an AI brainstorming tool to help generate candidate names and said, “Transparency is important and leaning into tools like this is exactly the kind of forward thinking that our CTE facility should model.”

The committee proposed that district colors be used for the CTE facility to reflect the center’s district-wide scope and recommended letting the first student cohort select the mascot. Trustees expressed support for leaving mascot choice to students and for the naming committee’s community-driven approach before moving, seconding and approving the item.

The motion to approve the recommended name passed during the meeting; the board offered congratulations to the committee and asked staff to proceed with signage and branding steps consistent with district policy.

Administration and trustees emphasized that the naming process was built on community input, committee vetting and adherence to board naming policy; trustees thanked the committee for its work and noted a desire to keep students involved in mascot selection as the facility opens.