The new Madison school is now the Paul J. Olson Elementary School after a vote of the Board of Education on March 24. Olson was a longtime Madison School District teacher and principal who also organized the purchase of the Madison School Forest.

Olson was one of four names forwarded to the Board by the Citizens Naming Committee, which had been appointed by the Board to winnow the 87 suggested names down to at least four names for the Board's consideration. (Committee's Final Report)

In addition to Olson, the recommended names were Jeffrey Erlanger, Howard Temin and Ilda Thomas.

In their deliberations, the Board members praised the four finalists. Using six criteria developed by the Naming Committee, the Board members individually ranked the four names. The tabulation placed Erlanger and Olson at the top.

Every Board member said it was difficult to choose between Erlanger, an advocate for disabled persons, and Olson. In the end, Olson's accomplishments aligned more with the criteria and with the school district itself. The vote was unanimous.

In his 43 years with the MMSD, Olson was a science teacher at West and Randall Schools and the first principal (23 years) at Midvale School.

As both a teacher and principal, he sought ways to teach ecology to students, which is why he helped to organize the Madison School Forest, to this day an outdoor conservation classroom. For this and his many other efforts, the Wisconsin Wildlife Foundation named Olson Conservationist of the Year in 1967, and he was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 1989.

Due to polio in his childhood, Olson used crutches throughout his life.

One of the many endorsements for Olson says it well:

"To remember Paul J. Olson is to take pride in the quality of public education in a city whose commitment to K-12 education is a hallmark of its reputation.

To remember Paul J. Olson is to take pride in the quality of a conservation ethic one associates with such other great Wisconsin environment giants as Aldo Leopold.

To remember Paul J. Olson is to rejoice in how being 'disabled' is a way of being 'abled'.

All these qualities — an educator, a conservation champion, a role model for all people — warrant a public school being named after this kind, gentle man."

By Theodore A. Tarkow, Midvale, Cherokee and West Schools alumnus

Despite delays as a result of the record snowfall this winter, the construction of Olson Elementary School is on schedule. The building will be totally enclosed by April 7 to enable greater progress with interior work. The school will open to students on the first day of the 2008-09 year — Tuesday, September 2.