VRHS Said Good Bye To Its Native American Mascot Just In Time

ESSEX, CHESTER, DEEP RIVER, CT — It is said that timing is everything! This stands true for the Region 4 Board of Education who made the decision in August of 2020 to discontinue the use of Native American imagery, including the mascot, to represent any program, athletics or otherwise at Valley Regional High School, which had been the mascot at the school for over two generations. By doing so, the Board not only rid the school of an outdated mascot, which was offensive to some, but it also protected the district from being banned from some streams of funding.

In June of 2021, a bill passed in the legislative session that had a provision in it that will deny funding to school districts with Native American mascots. Beginning in the fiscal year 2023, the bill bars communities with school nicknames, logos and mascots, portraying Native Americans from receiving grants from the Mashantucket Pequot Mohegan Fund.

According to Region 4 Superintendent Brian White, since August of 2020 the district and high school administrative staff took steps to remove the former Native American imagery from all locations at VRHS, as well as steps to ensure that the imagery was removed from uniforms and any other official representations of the high school. Currently, the symbol used to represent Valley Regional High School has been changed to a large capital "V".