Mendon‑Upton committee unveils new mascot, the Coyotes, after multistakeholder vote

The Mendon‑Upton Regional School District on May 20 announced the Coyote as its new district mascot after a multi‑stakeholder selection process, school officials said.

The committee described a five‑group ranking system that gave each stakeholder group (high school students, younger students, staff/faculty and community members including alumni) 25 points; the Coyote earned 44 points and led the field, according to the presenters. Parent representative John Deiani and alumni Grace Merin and Steve Watson were introduced as members of the mascot committee and participated in the unveiling.

School officials and students framed the coyote as an animal with regional ecological relevance and symbolic resonance; presenters also noted historical connections to Nipmuc people surfaced in the committee’s review. The district said designers will refine the final logo and color palette — committee members emphasized the district will retain green and white while exploring new accent colors and a range of marks tailored to elementary, middle and high school uses.

“It's a tough looking dog,” one presenter said during the unveiling, noting the displayed image was a finalist concept and not the final logo.

Officials said the decision followed months of committee work beginning in January and included input from students, faculty, parents, alumni and community members. The district plans to work with professional brand designers over the summer and complete a phased rollout in the fall, updating uniforms and signage and introducing student‑facing traditions (the student section could be called “the Pack,” officials said).

Committee members praised the collaborative process and said the consensus outcome was notable. The district did not publish exact vote totals by stakeholder subgroup beyond the reported scoring breakdown at the meeting, and the presenters said additional design approval steps remain before a final graphic is released.