Submitted by Westfield Washington Schools
On Tuesday evening, Feb. 10, the Westfield Washington Schools (WWS) Board of School Trustees approved Cool Creek Elementary School as the official name of the elementary school returning to the building currently known as Westfield Intermediate School.
The name Midland Crossing Elementary was also officially approved at the Board’s Feb. 10 meeting by a unanimous vote.
As part of district rebalancing for the 2026-2027 school year, the Westfield Intermediate School building will be thoughtfully transitioned back into an elementary school, serving students and families in a space that originally opened as an elementary school in 1962.
The naming process began with an open invitation to Westfield Elementary families to participate in a collaborative workshop alongside school and district administrators. This workshop served as a first and important step in the process, providing families the opportunity to learn about the building’s history, review past student naming work, and consider naming patterns across WWS. Through thoughtful discussion and a couple of rounds of voting, participants identified four new finalist name options.
This process led to four new names as finalists: Cool Creek Elementary, Founders Rock Elementary, Lantern Station Elementary, and Union Meadows Elementary.
“I am incredibly grateful to the families who engaged in our naming process,” Cool Creek Elementary School Andy Hilton said. “Their thoughtful engagement helped shape this important decision, and it reflects the strong partnership we value between our school and families. As we open this new chapter together, I look forward to continuing to work alongside our community to establish this new school and new chapter for Westfield.”
In alignment with School Board and district policy G450, which requires inviting input from the broader community before naming a school building, WWS then gathered feedback through an advisory poll sent to WWS staff, alumni, and others. The purpose of the poll was to gather perspectives and better understand the overall sentiment of the community; it was not a binding vote and did not, on its own, determine the final school name.
A total of 916 respondents participated in the advisory poll. The overall rankings from the advisory poll were as follows:
- Cool Creek Elementary School – 31.4 percent
- Union Meadows Elementary School – 25.8 percent
- Westfield Elementary School – 22.0 percent
- Founders Rock Elementary School – 11.2 percent
- Lantern Station Elementary School – 9.8 percent
WWS extends its sincere thanks to the families of the newly named Cool Creek Elementary School who partnered with the district throughout the naming process, as well as to the many community members who took time to participate in the advisory poll.
Community members who would like to stay connected to WWS are invited to subscribe to the bi-weekly Shamrock Blast email newsletter for district-wide news.
