By 1808Delaware
Olentangy Schools is asking community members to help shape a small but lasting part of district history. The district has opened a public call for name suggestions for Elementary School 18, a new building scheduled to open in fall 2027. The school is being built in Delaware County’s Liberty Township, on land along Bean Oller Road west of the intersection with Sawmill Road.
Suggestions will be accepted through March 25, 2026, and residents are encouraged to do more than simply submit a name. District officials are asking participants to include historical research or other descriptive information explaining why a proposed name fits. The final recommendation is expected to go before the Olentangy Board of Education at its April 9, 2026 meeting.
A Name With Rules And Roots
The naming process is guided by Board of Education policy 7250, titled Commemoration of School Facilities. Under that policy, school buildings are to be named based on local history or geography, and directional names such as north, south, east, and west are not permitted.
That requirement gives the process a clear tone. This is not simply a branding exercise. It is an invitation to connect a new building with the place around it, whether through township history, early settlement patterns, natural features, or other parts of southern Delaware County’s past.
A District Built Through Consolidation And Growth
Olentangy Local Schools has deep roots in an area that once looked very different from the fast-growing suburban district it is today.
In the early 1900s, students in southern Delaware County attended numerous one-room schoolhouses scattered across the countryside. Beginning in 1911, those schools gradually consolidated into four K-12 buildings: Powell in 1911, Hyatts in 1914, Berlin in 1915, and Orange in 1916. Those four schools formed the basic framework of what would become today’s district.
A major turning point came in 1952, when construction began on a consolidated school on Shanahan Road, later known as Olentangy High School. That move brought grades 9 through 12 together, while younger students remained in local buildings. Liberty Union, also on Shanahan Road, was built in 1961 as a junior high serving kindergarten, seventh, and eighth grades, and opened to students in 1963 next to the original high school. By 1969, the Orange school had closed, and the Shanahan complex housed K-12 students for the first time. By 1973, Berlin, Hyatts, and Powell had also closed, completing the district’s move to a unified campus.
From Rural District To State Giant
That arrangement held until 1990, when a new Olentangy High School opened on Lewis Center Road. After that, the district entered a new era defined by suburban development and extraordinary enrollment growth.
As southern Delaware County changed, Olentangy responded with a steady wave of new school construction. Among the district’s early modern elementary schools were Wyandot Run in 1993-94, Alum Creek in 1996-97, Arrowhead and Scioto Ridge in 1998-99, and Oak Creek in 2000-01.
The pace of growth has been striking. District enrollment stood at 4,812 students in 1998. By the 2014-15 school year, it had climbed to about 19,056. That expansion transformed Olentangy from a largely rural system into a major suburban district serving parts of Lewis Center, Columbus, Powell, Delaware, Westerville, and multiple Delaware County townships across 95 square miles.
As of early 2026, the district operates 17 elementary schools, six middle schools, four high schools, plus the Olentangy Academy building and the OASIS online option. Enrollment passed 24,000 students by winter 2025, making Olentangy the largest district in Delaware County and the fourth largest in Ohio.
The Next Chapter
The coming addition of Elementary School 18 is part of an even larger growth plan. In November 2025, voters approved a no-new-millage bond issue to fund both the new elementary school and a fifth high school, as the district plans for enrollment projected to top 28,000 students by the mid-2030s.
That makes the naming process more meaningful than it might first appear. This new school is not just another building on the map. It is part of the continuing story of how Olentangy has grown, adapted, and defined itself over more than a century. Residents who want to submit a suggestion can do so through the district’s online form, which can be accessed here.
