by Mary Rupert
A Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools naming committee on Thursday morning gave a preliminary nod to the name “Wolves” for its recommendation for the new mascot of Arrowhead Middle School.
The mascot is in the process of being changed from “Apaches” because of objections of some district patrons.
After it makes its final recommendation, the committee will send the name to the full school board for approval.
There were three finalists for the mascot name, according to Dr. Ralph Teran, chief finance and operating officer for the district. They were Wolves, Blue Jays and Phoenix. Wolves were leading by only five votes over Blue Jays.
Four surveys were included for Arrowhead, including one taken in the school building, one on an online district survey with three choices from the previous March 9 meeting, an incoming sixth-grade survey from feeder schools and a ballot box at the West Wyandotte Library, Dr. Teran said.
The total votes were 370 for Wolves, 365 for Phoenix and 360 for Blue Jays, he said.
Rachel Russell, a board member who was leading the committee on Thursday, said she preferred not to make a school color recommendation for Arrowhead. The school colors previously were blue and yellow, with some support from the building for continuing them, according to Dr. Teran.
Russell said she supported the principal and building choosing their colors. She didn’t want schools to feel they needed to come to the board about school color choice. The renaming committee meeting was on Zoom.
Dr. Stacy Yeager, who serves on the renaming committee, said the board was more focused on renaming schools than on the school colors in its previous school renamings.
The school renaming committee also is in the process of renaming the Fairfax Learning Center.
Dr. Teran said the name that received the most votes was Alfred Fairfax Academy. Other names that were in the running for Fairfax were Charles Langston and Rosa Parks.
Alfred Fairfax, the first African American Kansas state reprsentatie, received the most votes by a wide margin, according to Dr. Teran. In the 1880s, Fairfax sponsored legislation that would ensure equal access to public education for all Kansas children.
Currently, the Fairfax Learning Center is located at the former White Church Elementary School building at 2226 N. 85th St., Kansas City, Kansas. It moved there in 2021.
The next step is for the renaming committee to make a written recommendation to the school board.
At this time, there are plans for additional community response between May 10 and May 31, Russell said. The district will provide opportunities for more community feedback. The renaming could go to the full school board at the March 31 meeting, she said.