September 15, 2020
Mariemont City Schools Community,
The school district, as well as the Board of Education, has made clear its stance on being an equitable, inclusive and responsive learning community that values the dignity and uniqueness of all students, staff and community members.
Mariemont City Schools established the Global and Cultural Perspectives Committee in 2015 with the aim to increase knowledge and understanding of global competency and culturally proficient practices and combat issues happening in the world and within our own schools and community.
In June of this year, the entire Board of Education, along with district administration, released statements denouncing racism and injustice and vowed to continue listening, learning and understanding how we can eradicate these practices in our community and world.
As Board of Education members, we collectively committed ourselves to examining all aspects of how the district operates, including curriculum, literature selections and historical lessons of our community, state and nation. We vowed to listen to diverse voices, educate ourselves and, if necessary, re-examine the traditions and practices of our school district.
As part of this work, we have been engaged in dialog about the appropriateness of using Native American imagery as the school district’s logo. We conducted research on this topic, including a review of perspectives from Native American tribes, and sought community feedback on the use of the district logo.
At yesterday’s regularly-scheduled Board of Education meeting, after much discussion and careful consideration, the Board unanimously voted to remove the “Warrior Head” image as the school district and athletics logo. It is important to note that Mariemont City Schools will continue to be the Warriors and will keep its traditional colors of blue and gold.
We will soon determine a process and parameters to discuss next steps as well as a timeline to phase out the current “Warrior Head” logo. Additional information will be shared at www.mariemontschools.org as it becomes available.
We would like to thank the Mariemont City Schools community for its continued support of our students and staff. We look forward to continuing on this path towards cultural proficiency together.
Sincerely,
The Mariemont City Schools Board of Education
Brian Nichols, President
Ken White, Vice President
Nan Dill
Kelli Neville
Laura Organisciak
