Renfroe still recalls her joy at the news in 1955 that a Montgomery, Ala., seamstress named Rosa Parks had defied Jim Crow laws by refusing to move to the rear of a bus. "I just wish she could be around today to see how far we've come," Renfroe said of his former teacher.

"I think this will unite us," said another board member, Betty Cross, who has differed with the board on other issues.

Hempstead Village Mayor Wayne Hall said naming the school after Obama is appropriate. "The fact that he was elected on Nov. 4 as the first African American is the achievement," Hall said. "He doesn't have to do anything else. The fact that he was elected is the ultimate achievement for all Americans."

A Web search finds no mention of other schools or public facilities in the United States named for Obama, though such moves are being advocated in Calumet City, Ill., and Portland, Ore.

In Antigua, the prime minister has said he's taking measures to have the island's highest peak renamed Mount Obama, according to the AP.

A school in Kogelo, Kenya, birthplace of Obama's father, was named for the president-elect after he was elected senator.