Previous coverage:
Ypsilanti Community Schools will don uniforms in black and Vegas gold next school year, however the mascot that will embody those colors will be chosen by a student vote.
The joint Ypsilanti and Willow Run school board voted Thursday night on the school colors after receiving a recommendation from the new district's Naming and Mascot Advisory Committee. The Board of Education also decided to have students in grades 7-12 select the mascot by popular vote from: Trailblazers, Flyers and Grizzlies.
If you're thinking, "Grizzlies?" You're not alone. It wasn't even in the running a couple of weeks ago.
Willow Run's current mascot is the Flyers, and this is one of its logos.
From WRCS
He said the same day the district launched its community-wide survey, the Ann Arbor Neutral Zone facilitated the first of several events involving high schools students from both Ypsilanti and Willow Run. The purpose of the events is community building and coming together to create a new school identity and culture.
At the first joint meeting on March 23, the students discussed the new district's mascot choices, and the top vote getter from this group of about 50 students was the Grizzlies.
"Well, obviously that wasn't on the survey and I'm not even sure how they came up with it," Menzel said with a chuckle.
But Menzel said selecting a mascot that the students can support and that gives students a sense of pride is of the utmost importance to district officials, and one of the five guiding pillars throughout the creation of YCS has been student voice and empowerment.
On the survey the district sent out were seven mascot choices: Bombers, Flyers, Liberators, Mustangs, Ravens, Royals and Trailblazers.
Menzel said overall, Bombers was the most popular choice, but the name didn't resonate well with students. He also said school officials had some concerns because, while the name represents the history of the community as the nickname of the B-24 planes built in Willow Run, it also has a negative connotation.
After Bombers on the survey, the general community favored Flyers next. But again, Menzel said this name was low on students' lists.
On the survey, the No. 1 choice among students was Royals. However, the Royals was selected last by community members and second-to-last by alumni from both districts.
Menzel said because of the conflicting survey results and the district's desire to have student input, school officials went back to the group of about 50 students from Ypsilanti and Willow Run and presented the survey results to them. Officials had another robust discussion with the kids and re-polled them. Royals still was No. 1, followed by Grizzlies and Trailblazers.
The Board of Education decided Thursday night that a vote from students in grades 7-12 at both districts would be the final decision. On a yet-to-be-decided date next week, both districts will host a vote in which students will chose among Grizzlies, students' top pick; Flyers, the community's second choice; and Trailblazers, which was in the top-three among all groups surveyed.
Menzel said Royals and Bombers were thrown out because of a lack buy-in from one or more key groups.
The student ballots will be totaled and the name with the most votes will be brought back to the Board of Education for approval on April 25.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.