The Avon Central School District (ACSD) has been working to identify a new name (nickname) and imagery to represent Avon. We send this update in order to keep the community informed.
Transition Imagery-
After soliciting feedback from staff and students, the Board of Education reviewed and approved transition imagery. Additionally, a guidance document was approved and sent first to staff members and then to some community groups. The guidance information is posted online at the District’s web page. This transition imagery is to be used until a new official name and imagery is created.
New Name & Imagery-
To select a new name, at the direction of its community stakeholder committee, ACSD requested recommendations from the community. This open invite to provide input was sent from ACSD to registered emails and posted via social media sites on multiple occasions. It was sent to all staff members and to students in grades 7-12. It was also made available on the ACSD website. Further, the request for input was advertised in both the Penny Saver and Livingston County News. Finally, suggestions were invited in person at the Corn Festival and via telephone by simply calling the District Office. The open period lasted more than six full weeks.
At the close of the recommendation period, more than 300 individuals submitted recommendations. Most were able to recommend a first, second, and third choice. In total more that 220 individual names were received from the community.
The ASCD stakeholder team reviewed all of the recommended names. It then discussed and implemented a process to move from 220 names to just over 50 names. The committee eliminated some names as either offensive or simply not appropriate to represent the school district. Each committee member was then allowed to select 10 names to move forward. Some names were selected several times, while others were selected just once. Any name that was selected by a committee member remained. The committee is currently going through another exercise in which each team member will select a top 5 to further narrow the field. Any names selected in this second round will remain in the running. This round will be completed by the end of this week.
Next Steps-
At next week’s meeting of the stakeholder committee, the team will review the remaining names and will collectively identify a strategy for going back to the ACSD community to further narrow the choices. When the list of remaining possibilities reaches a manageable number, likely 5-7, some potential images may be developed to help inform the possibilities.
This is happening on a structured timeline with the goal of selecting a new name by mid-January. Ultimately, the stakeholder committee will make a final recommendation to the Avon Board of Education for approval. Once approved by the Board, ACSD will continue the process of developing additional images to be used in conjunction with the District.
Thanks for your participation in and support of this collective process.