What: Umoja International Academy Back to School Night and Renaming Ceremony
Where: Umoja International Academy, 5301 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95819
When: Thursday, September 21, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:30pm

Sacramento, CA - The newly renamed Umoja International Academy will hold a school renaming dedication ceremony at their annual family welcome event on Thursday, September 21 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. The Back to School Night for Umoja International Academy will include food, games, music, and will be an opportunity for families to meet and engage with teachers. There will also be a dedication ceremony to celebrate the school’s renaming to Umoja, which will also include a dance performance with the theme of unity.

In the Fall of 2020, SCUSD identified schools in the district that were originally named for individuals who history has confirmed engaged in, perpetuated, and/or condoned racism, oppression, colonization and exclusion of others, even genocide. As part of Sac City Unified’s commitment to confront and interrupt racism and create safe learning environments that are welcoming, inclusive, and inspiring places for all students and staff, the SCUSD Board of Education voted at the June 22, 2023 meeting to rename three schools, which included Umoja International Academy (formerly Kit Carson International Academy). Umoja is the first principle of Kwanzaa and means to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

“I am proud to welcome our families back to school for a year unlike any other in our history,” said Dr. LuTisha Stockdale, Principal, Umoja International Academy. “This is a momentous opportunity for our students and families to begin a new tradition of community under our new Umoja school name.”

Other Sacramento City Unified schools beginning the 2023-24 school year with new names include Miwok Middle School (formerly Sutter Middle School), and Suy:u Elementary (formerly named Peter Burnett Elementary).