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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Salt Lake City school named after President Andrew Jackson is being changed to honor a pioneering woman in U.S. space exploration.
The Salt Lake City School District Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night in support of the change from Jackson Elementary to Mary W. Jackson Elementary School.
It's the first school in Utah's capital city to be named after a woman.
Mary Jackson became NASA's first black female engineer in 1958. Her story is among those recounted in the book "Hidden Figures" and film of the same name.
Andrew Jackson, the seventh U.S. president, was known in part for the role he played in extending slavery into Western territories during the early 1800s.
Principal Jana Edward says it's been a rewarding experience to watch her school's community unite with the local neighborhood in support of the change.
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