BOE Goals and Mascot

September 24, 2019

Dear KLSD Community,

At our meeting last Thursday night, the Board of Education adopted goals for the 2019-2020 school year including, as in previous years, a leadership goal to foster a welcoming, inclusive environment that inspires trust and a shared sense of purpose among all school community members.

With this leadership goal in mind, the Board expressed concern about our Indians mascot (see linked video, at timestamp 1:11:50) and asked me to consider and propose a process toward a possible mascot change. I hope you have come to know that my style as your Superintendent is to be transparent when thinking through important topics for our schools and our community. That is the reason for today’s email. 

As you might be aware, our Indians mascot has been discussed on multiple occasions over several decades.  As I mentioned to our Board last Thursday, I would view a renewed conversation as an opportunity for Katonah-Lewisboro to show its best self. While the topic has the potential to be divisive, my hope is to design a process that will be unifying for our students and our community.  

I look forward to sharing more information with you soon and to inviting you to share your thoughts with me and our Board. 

Sincerely,

Andrew Selesnick, Superintendent of Schools