Instead of an arrowhead, Frederick High School’s new logo keeps the spirit of their old logo with a fearsome Golden Eagle creating the lower slash of the capital “F.”
High schoolers returning this week started the school year not as the Warriors, but as the Golden Eagles. The change has been received well so far, according to Principal Russelll Fox
He said during the senior sunrise on Thursday, students were doing Golden Eagle cheers. On the freshmen’s first day on Wednesday, the new high schoolers eagerly learned the Golden Eagle chants from the cheerleaders.
“Really our senior and junior leaders have been the ones to really just take it and run with it,” Fox said. “So many kids follow their lead, and they just love it. So where they go, the student population goes.”
Brand new signs, murals, gym floor and sports uniforms now sport the Golden Eagle. Fox said the clean, sharp look of the branding provided by the St. Vrain Valley School District helped to build student excitement about the school’s new mascot, with the large murals in the cafeteria featuring several Frederick students.
The high school retired its Warriors mascot after last year’s state law went into place, which fines schools $25,000 per month if they use Native American imagery or names without an existing partnership with a native tribe.
The process to become the Golden Eagles started 15 months ago, with the school forming a mascot branding committee with community leaders, students, teachers and parents. They put out a survey to the community for mascot ideas and received thousands of responses with over 800 unique suggestions.
Changing the mascot of a high school in a community as close knit as Frederick wasn’t always easy, but Fox described everyone coming together to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
“At times it can be a heavy change,” Fox said. “I believe that Frederick High School is the heart and the center of this community. Frederick High School is more than just the students. It’s a really big part of this community, but the community has rallied behind the kids and behind the school.”
The committee began narrowing ideas from the 15 most common suggestions down to the top three contenders: Golden Eagles, Mustangs and Hornets. The Golden Eagles quickly became the favorite because of its majestic and proud connotations.
Frederick also was able to keep its historical blue and gold colors, which paired especially nicely with the new mascot.
“We’ve done a really good job of really being mindful and saying a bunch of times, and meaning it in our actions, that we’re not trying to ever disassociate ourselves from our history,” Fox said.
“We are proud of Frederick High School, and also we can be proud of Frederick High School with a new mascot.”
Some of the new Golden Eagle uniforms are still on their way for a few sports due to supply chain issues, and the sign outside the high school will just say “Home of the ____” until the letters can be made — but Frederick has been quick to adopt its new mascot.
Fox emphasized the importance of the high school mascot and how it unites the students at Frederick High School and beyond.
“It is a huge part of the identity and the fabric of the school, and especially the school at Frederick,” Fox said. “We have more of our student population showing up to our concerts, to our plays, to our athletic events than any other school I’ve seen … For as diverse of a school we are and as big of a school we are, it’s something that every single kid has in common and buys into.”
