Quite right. Here in Pittsburgh we have The Barack Obama Academy of International Studies. The grade 6 - 12 school is an International Baccalaureate school and was named for Pres Obama in 2009. Despite the name, enrollment at this public school has slipped, and the percentage of students achieving proficiency in math is 31% (which is lower than the Pennsylvania state average of 46%) for the 2016-17 school year. The percentage of students achieving proficiency in reading/language arts is 48% (which is lower than the Pennsylvania state average of 63%) for the 2016-17 school year. Overall, Pittsburgh Obama 6-12 placed in the bottom 50% of all schools in Pennsylvania for overall test scores (math proficiency is bottom 50%, and reading proficiency is bottom 50%) for the 2016-17 school year. But the name is an excellent name, very uplifting, as you point out.
Locally, they renamed the ‘Alternative High School’ ‘The Academy’. They did this because of the bad reputation the Alternative High School and its students had. They think the problem is the name. No they don’t. They know what the problem is and cannot say it, let alone do something about it. So they change the name.