Shared Decision Team
The NYS Education Department is requiring Oneida City School District and all NYS schools to remove Native American references and imagery from district logos and icons. Our Shared Decision Committee is assisting the district in selecting a new mascot/logo. The committee is comprised of a group of students, community members and faculty.
Shared Decision Committee Plan:
· As per NYS mandate, OCSD will not be keeping the "Oneida Indians" name. Within state guidelines, "Indians" is no longer permissible.
· OCSD will keep its current colors of Blue and Orange due to their importance within community history and heritage.
· Launch a community, student, and faculty survey to solicit ideas for a new mascot.
· Narrow down survey results to three contenders and generate a final survey.
· Design a mascot based on final survey results.
Community Survey:
The committee's first community survey was launched in April 2023 and solicited nearly 400 community ideas. The advisory committee then used this data to select three top candidates based on the frequency of suggestions and committee criteria.
In May 2023, the committee examined community responses and presented a second community survey in the beginning of June. After concerns were voiced regarding one of the potential mascots, a third and final survey was launched in July 2023. The third survey presented our top three mascot contenders for a final vote:
· Dragons
· Lions
· Express
New Mascot:
The Oneida City School District honors our legacy as the Oneida Indians.
As a district and community, we will continue to respect that history and build new memories as the Oneida Express.
What’s Next?
A plan for the next steps will be announced in the fall of 2023 and will involve the Shared Decision Committee to help with the mascot design.