The Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) will hold a special ceremony at 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, to rename the Stanislaus County Institute of Learning (3113 Mitchell Road, Ceres) to John B. Allard School.

SCOE recently sold the Allard school site in Turlock to the Turlock Unified School District and relocated the Stanislaus Military Academy, which was located there, to the Teel School site in Empire.

John B. Allard was Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools from 1979 to 1991. He began his educational career at Turlock High School in 1951, held numerous positions in education over the years, and was instrumental in the success of the first alternative education program in Stanislaus County. In addition, he served the country as a member of the United States Army during World War II. To recognize Mr. Allard’s contributions and commitment to education, SCOE will rename the Stanislaus County Institute of Learning in his honor.

Scott Kuykendall, Stanislaus County Superintendent of Schools, Jeff Albritton, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Options at SCOE, and Marcelo Briones, Principal of the newly named John B. Allard School, will speak at the renaming ceremony. In addition, members of the Allard family, some who are traveling from as far away as Spain, will also speak at the event.

The new Allard site will house the Tactical Charter Academy (TCA), a middle school program with highly structured classroom settings, a character training program, and a military theme. In addition to TCA, an Independent Study program will also be operated at the Allard site.