Madison School Board voted to rename Southside Elementary School after the late Lori Mann Carey, a beloved force in the area of education in South Madison and beyond, at the school board meeting on Monday night.
Mann Carey grew up on Madison’s South Side along with her four siblings in a household where education was a top priority. She founded Mission 4.0 at Madison West, an after-school enrichment program that provided students with a suite of culturally sensitive interconnected supports. Mann Carey also helped create the Mann Scholars program, which provides scholarships and mentorship to Madison students of color throughout the Madison Metropolitan School District. Named in honor of her parents, the late Bernard and Kathlyn Mann, the Mann Scholars program has been in existence for over 30 years and boasts a 100 percent graduation rate.
Mann Carey passed away on Nov. 16, 2020.
(Photo by Omar Waheed)
Southside Elementary is Madison’s newest school and is situated off Rimrock Road, sharing a campus with Badger Rock Middle School.
Lori Mann Carey was chosen over other possible names like Nine Springs Elementary School, Southside Community School, and Ada Deer Elementary School. Monday night’s school board vote was 6-0, with board member Maia Pearson abstaining.
The name change to Lori Mann Carey Elementary School is expected to take effect at the beginning of the ’25-’26 school year.
