The chairman of the Killingly Board of Education released a statement on Friday morning.
“At the request of community members and student leaders at Killingly High School, the Killingly Board of Education revisited an ongoing issue related to the use of Native American imagery as a mascot and using “Redmen” as a reference to our athletes. Although it was never the intention of the district to be disrespectful to Native American culture, we believe it is time to retire the current KHS mascot and begin a new tradition for KHS,” board of education chairman John Burns wrote in a letter to the school community.
The superintendent will be collaborating with students, faculty and families as the school works to identify a new name for a high school mascot. There is also an online survey.
“It is not our intention to dismiss Killingly’s history and tradition, but to promote an inclusive and unifying environment. It is our belief that a mascot should be a unifying symbol for all our students,” Burns wrote.
