Wappingers Falls High School Finally Agrees on New Name

It's been a long road but the Board of Education in the Wappingers Central School district has finally approved the Roy C. Ketcham High School's new mascot.

It's been a story we've been following for over a year and to say it has been a long road full of twists, turns, and failed votes is an understatement but it appears that the second-largest High School in the Wappingers Central School District has voted to change the school's nickname and mascot at Roy C. Ketcham High School.

Roy C. Ketcham Drop "Indians" Nickname

It's been well documented recently that one of the few remaining schools in New York to still use the "Indians" nickname and mascot has had numerous issues with what they should change their name to.

The name change issues began after New York's Board of Education said they could withhold state funding to any school that still holds the name Indians and with Ketcham holding the name it was decided that they would change it.

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That was last year and over the next few months, the school held student body and staff votes to see which name they would like to see the school adopt. Back in October, they narrowed the new name list down to Titans, Knights, and River Hawks. After the staff and students at the school selected Knights as their choice, it was submitted to the Board of Education (BOE).

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The BOE then proceeded to deny the name stating it could have racial undertones, so they denied it.

What Will Ketcham's Mascot Be?

First, we can tell you it won't be any of the choices mentioned above but the school does have a BOE-certified new name according to the High school's principal David Seipp. We reached out to Siepp asking about the new name and he told us that "the BOE approved the new mascot name the "Storm."

We also asked if the school had any sort of timeline as to when the school would begin removing all Indian references but haven't heard back. When we do, we will update this article.