La Veta approves mascot change, will be known as the Redhawks next school year
La Veta’s sports teams will be known as the Redhawks, starting with the 2021-22 school year.
The school district’s board of education voted in September to retire the previous mascot, the Redskins, following months of work and feedback. Then, on Dec. 14, the board voted to approve the Redhawks as the school’s new mascot.
The change coincides with La Veta’s new school building, which is set to open in the fall of 2021 in the south central part of the state.
The process of choose a new mascot involved “a committee of parents, alumni, students, and staff,” according to La Veta athletic director Chris Locke. This branding committee funneled feedback to the board of education.
An initial survey of new mascot options was sent to fifth graders through seniors in the district, and it offered eight choices in mascots, and also a spot for respondents to add their own option, according to board president Eleanor Foley.
“We favored Redhawks because red-tailed hawk is native to our area,” Foley said, “but waited to see what students would choose.”
That initial survey showed that Redhawks was the most popular choice, and was followed by Raptors, Bears and Red Wolves.
From there, a second survey was sent to students, parents and the community with those choices.
“Again, Redhawks was first, and Red Wolves was a distant second,” Foley said.
Further data, which included paper ballots as an option, was collected.
“All this was presented to school board and we honored the committee’s choice of Redhawks,” Foley said, noting that the vote was 3-2 in favor.
The process of rebranding is still on-going, including the development of a new logo. Foley said that the branding committee “will now begin meetings to help flesh out what images we will adopt.”
