Port Jervis Schools Release Final Decision On Name Change

Over the last few years, several Hudson Valley schools have changed their school team names and mascot.

The New York State Education Department states that school names/mascots like Warriors, Raiders, Braves, Chiefs, and Indians were to be removed.

In a statement the NYS Education Department said "The logos are that must be changed "derived from or having connections with Indigenous people in the past or present."

There is a deadline for all New York State schools to make the change is June 2025.

Port Jervis School District Last Minute Push To Save School Name

Back in January 2025, a video went viral locally of a social studies teacher in the Port Jervis School District. In the video social studies teacher, and Port Jervis native, Kelly Decker is breaking down the history and meaning of Raider, which is the Port Jervis mascot and name.

Decker explains the history and shares his argument why the name shouldn't be changed below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kelly B Decker (@kellybdecker)

Many agreed with Decker, one commenter writing "Kelly Decker 2028! We can not wipe out History, but only understand it! Well done!"

READ MORE: Port Jervis Makes Last Minute Push To Save School Name

Others didn't agree with Decker as much explaining "These symbols perpetuate harmful stereotypes and disrespect the rich cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples."

As the deadline approaches, will Port Jervis be changing their name?

Port Jervis Schools Make Decision to Not Change Their Name...Sort of

In a statement released by the Port Jervis City School District Superintendent John J. Bell, they have decided "not to select a new team name at this time."

According to the statement there are some reasons behind the decisions. Bell explains the reasoning writing:

• None of the suggested new names had a high level of support in the student voting.
• Emotions are still raw regarding the state education department's (SED) decision.
• Our state legislators are trying to help change this because it was a SED regulation, not a law. 
• There are current lawsuits on this topic. 

With that being said, Port Jervis will be taking Raiders out of their name explaining:

to avoid jeopardizing our approximately $65 million in annual state aid. We just won't select a new team name at this time.

Bell concludes with:

A common-sense approach would have been to allow schools to keep their team names and require them to eliminate any Native American/Indigenous symbols or imagery. We hope this will happen in the future.

If Port Jervis decides on a mascot in the near future, we will update this story.