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New school renaming policies in San Diego Unified aim to bring clearer direction to schools in how they change their or their mascots’ names, after the district was criticized last year for a lack of transparency in the process. The board voted unanimously Tuesday night to overhaul the procedures that dictate how to change the names of schools and mascots — among them Clairemont High School’s, the Chieftains, banned under a new state law. The update comes after the district faced criticism over the process used to rename then-Henry Clay Elementary for former local education official Bertha Pendleton.
That process, parents and some trustees said at the time, needed more transparency . Tuesday night, Board President Cody Petterson the board is cognizant of the fact that many communities are attached to their mascots. “Which makes it all the more important,” he said, to adopt a policy that “creates a process whereby at the outcome of this whole thing, you’re going to have a mascot name that people in that community feel invested in.
” Under the new rule, before beginning the process of renaming a school or mascot, a school site or community should consider a number of factors — including whether the name “reflects historical harm or exclusion.” The new policy also directs the creation of 10-person naming committee composed of school officials, educators, students and community members and requires a minimum of two public input sessions. Ultimately, the board will vote on whether to approve the final recommended name.
Clairemont High School’s mascot will be the first change initiated under the updates. “I think it’s obviously, on its face, inappropriate to have the victims of genocide be the name of your mascot,” said Petterson. In August, the high school will form a representative committee to guide the proposed changes and will launch a website dedicated to the effort.
From September through December, the school will host listening sessions and surveys, a decision will be made by January, and the new name will implemented starting next school year. One member of the public spoke about the proposal Tuesday night. Ricardo Medina, who said he was a member of the district’s Indian Education Program’s parent advisory committee, asked if the district would need to go through the new process despite a new state ban on the use of “derogatory Native American terms” as school and mascot names.
That law specifically mentions “Chieftains.” He also expressed concern about what the community input process might mean for Indigenous students. “If we do go through this policy and there is the public engagement, how do we protect our students, our Native students or Native community members?” he said.
He said students and faculty at Canyon Hills High School had been threatened during the renaming process there. In 2021, Canyon Hills High was renamed from Junipero Serra High School, named for the founder of the California mission system that exploited and forcibly resettled Native Californians. Its mascot was also changed from a conquistador to a rattlesnake.
Board Vice President Richard Barrera agreed with Medina and asked Interim Superintendent Fabiola Bagula to ensure the district puts the right protections in place for their community — “especially our students that are participating in this process,” he said..
