Name and Symbol Information
On Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 3:30 pm, every school district across New York State received a memo from the New York State Education Department and the Senior Deputy Commissioner of Education. This memo is specific to the school district’s use of Native American logos, mascots, and names. It stated that districts must commit to replacing their Native American team name, logo, and/or imagery by the end of the 2022-23 school year. The memo also indicated that there would be forthcoming Regulations which will “clarify the school districts’ obligations.”
Since that time, we have taken a number of steps to respond to the Commissioner’s memo. This page is meant to provide updates to the community on our response to the memo and forthcoming Regulations as well as other important resources for understanding the possibility of a name and symbol change here in Canandaigua.
Check back regularly for updates to our process.
Canandaigua City School District Actions to Date:
- November 17, 2022 - Received memo from Deputy Commissioner of Education
- November 20, 2022 - Informed all families, staff and students via BravesSquare of Memo
- December 5, 2022 - Logo Audit- Walked all district properties to list items with Braves or Belt
- December 8, 2022 - Historical Fact Finding Zoom-met with members of the 2001 Administrative Team to discuss the decision around name and symbol from 2001
- December 12, 2022--Received Proposed (Draft) Addition of Regulation Prohibiting the Use of Indigenous Names, Mascots, and Logos by Public Schools.
- December 14, 2022 - Superintendent Farr’s letter to Commissioner Rosa and President Armstrong
- December 15, 2022 - Assemble Stakeholder Committee-First Orientation meeting via Zoom
- January 26, 2023 - Stakeholder Committee Meeting
- February 16, 2023 - Community Forum via Zoom hosted by Superintendent Farr. See below for the recording and presentation.
- February 24, 2023- Fingerlakes Times publishes "Canandaigua Braves may become Canandaigua Brave."
- March 21, 2023 - Superintendent Farr appealed to Haudenousanee Faith Keeper to bring our case before a tribal council for consideration
- March 23 , 2023 to Present - Superintendent Farr working with the other five superintendents in NYS who have a school name, Braves, to attempt to make an appeal to NYSED for the name Braves to be considered acceptable.
- April 18, 2023 - NYSED approved the Regulation specific to usage of Indigenous Peoples names, symbols and mascots in the State of New York.
- April 21, 2023 - Superintendent Farr updates the community on the regulation.
- May 4, 2023 - Superintendent Farr hosted a forum about our survey process. The video and slide deck are below.
- May 5, 2023 - The first of three surveys are made available to select the new CCSD nickname. To see the choices of the surveys, click here.
- June 2, 2023 - Survey #2 is released asking community members to rank their top four choices.
- June 16, 2023 - Survey #3 is released and closes June 21st at 3 pm.
Actions to be taken in the coming weeks:
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We will begin a series of surveys with the school community (staff, students, families, community members, and alumni). These surveys will be used to guide our work and our final determination for a school name, mascot, and symbol. The first survey will be released on May 5, 2023 at 3 pm.
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The Board of Education will, as required by the new Regulation, pass a resolution committing to changing our school name and symbol by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
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Our Stakeholder Committee will meet to review the Regulation, FAQ, and Guidance Document, when made available, to discuss and understand the contents. The Committee will also review and discuss all survey results and help interpret the results and determine our final course of action.
*Map does not reflect all changes to school symbols that have been made in the past few years.
Additional Resources & News Articles
[Articles may require paid subscription]
Indigenous Mascot Advisory Council's review process- Article from Rochesterfirst.com (March 23, 2023)
State Ed advisory group: Get rid of 'Warriors,' 'Raiders' team names- Article from Albany Times Union (March 25, 2023)
Salamanca Central School District working with Seneca Nation hoping to keep 'Warriors' name - News features from WKBK News 7 Buffalo (March 28, 2023)
