(Credit: Glens Falls City School District, 2022)
The Glens Falls City School District athletics webpage.
A memo from New York State's Department of Education says school districts must ensure "their district mascots, team names, and logos are non-discriminatory." The memo written by Senior Deputy Commissioner James N. Baldwin is dated Nov. 17. It arrived yesterday afternoon, and the Glens Falls School District has decided to comply, a statement from the school superintendent Krislynn Dengler says.
“This evening, the New York State Education Department has ordered all school districts in the state to remove the ‘Indian’ mascot and associated icons (the arrowhead included) from the public school system,” a statement from Dengler says. “The district has every intention of honoring the ruling made by NYSED. While the order contains a deadline of June 2023…we have yet to determine a timeline for removal of Indian-associated items on our sports uniforms, furniture, and in our buildings (ex. the high school gymnasium floor).”
Yesterday's memo draws from an earlier memo that said using Native American names and mascots builds a barrier to learning in a safe environment for students, especially Native American and minority students.
That earlier decision from Commissioner Richard Mills recognized "while a role for local discretion existed, 'there is a state interest in providing a safe and supportive learning environment for every child,'” the current memo says. The Mills memo asked schools to end the use of the mascots "as soon as possible," the current memo states.
The memo highlights the recent controversy with the Cambridge school system which removed and then reinstated the "Indian" mascot, only to have the State Education Department undo the reversal. Cambridge appealed the decision to the Albany County Supreme Court and lost.
"Thus, the court’s decision establishes that public school districts are prohibited from utilizing Native American mascots," the memo says. "Arguments that community members support the use of such imagery or that it is 'respectful' to Native Americans are no longer tenable.
"Those school districts that continue to utilize Native American team names, logos, and/or imagery without current approval from a recognized tribe must immediately come into compliance," the memo says.
"Should a district fail to affirmatively commit to replacing its Native American team name, logo, and/or imagery by the end of the 2022-23 school year, it may be in willful violation of the Dignity Act. The penalties for such a violation include the removal of school officers and the withholding of State Aid."
The school’s statement says the school was not consulted before the memo arrived, and the school is still trying to think through and plan next actions. They will look to the school’s community for guidance.
“We want to create a process to work together as a community and figure out how to best navigate this new road we’re traveling down together.
“Our community has long embraced the ‘GF Nation’ moniker as a source of pride and togetherness. While we’re at the very beginning stages of this process for finding a new mascot, we feel it’s important to look back on our unique legacy and create something original that reminds us all of where we come from and what we represent,” the statement says.
Gordon Woodworth contributed to this report.
Editor's note: We attributed the GFHS statement to the school board, but the statement came from Superintendent Krislynn Dengler. We apologize for the error.