As Rich Township School District 227 works to consolidate its three high schools, the new athletic program needs to name a mascot soon and a familiar nickname appears likely.
A source who attended a Dec. 3 meeting to select a mascot said the mascot name has been narrowed to four choices: Raptors, Red Hawks, Crimson Tigers and Rockets — the mascot of Rich East, which is scheduled to close at the end of this school year.
Several focus groups have been held to include district students in selecting the mascot of the yet to be renamed township high school, the source said.
District athletic director Todd Whitaker didn’t answer the Sun-Times’ request for comment.
Rich Township School Board president Andrea Bonds confirmed that the meetings to select a new mascot took place. Bonds also confirmed that the school board is scheduled to meet for the first time as group to discuss the high school’s new mascot.
“It’s important to really impact the areas children touch every day,” Bonds said. “I like the fact the kids are thinking about continuing to honor the tradition of the Rich Township District and Rich East.”
If the township decides on the Rockets as the mascot to preserve history, there’s precedent for such a move.
In 2014, alumni from Gordon Tech College Prep — a Northwest Side Catholic school that opened its doors in 1952 like Rich East did — protested the closing of the school. The alumni and the Gordon Tech’s school board decided to stick with the school’s original mascot — the Rams—and the school color, orange, when the school rebranded as DePaul College Prep.
In October, the township school board voted to close Rich East and plans to consolidate students—and the remaining high schools’ athletic programs— into the district’s remaining high schools — Rich Central in Olympia Fields and Rich South in Richton Park.
Rich East alumnus include former Bulls guard and activist Craig Hodges, actor Tom Berenger, and former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Larry McCarren.
On Dec. 4, the district voted to approve $105 million to finance several construction projects scheduled to improve the district’s remaining high schools, including gymnasiums, facilities and locker rooms, according to a school board press release.
