The school committee voted unanimously on November 22, 2021, to change the existing Westford Academy Mascot. The mascot was determined to be racist due to the dark figure within the hood and its origin story.  Now, a mascot drawing competition has been opened up to WPS students. WA Principal James Antonelli recently sent out an email sharing information on this contest.

This competition began March 15 and will be open till April 1. Students in grades 6-12 can submit designs, made digitally or by hand. Artists may only use maroon, grey, and white, the design must be done on a white background, and the design can include WA or Ghost but it is not required to be included.

Antonelli reached out to the community and put together a committee to figure out the logistics of all these decisions. Kyle Kucaj, a WA English teacher, is the staff representative. Three parent representatives, three current students, three WA alumni, and Antonelli are running this competition.

All of the original submissions will be sent to the committee of representatives who will then choose the best ones. These will go to the community, and the new will be decided from there.

According to Kucaj, having this committee allows for multiple views and opinions when deciding the final candidates.

“We’re accepting designs right now and from there we plan to choose a handful of the best designs,” Kucaj said.

The school is looking for a design that shows a more appropriate way to express “The Ghost,” but that is up for the artists to decide. The designs can be submitted here and will be reviewed by the committee.

“We want anything that can kind of breathe new life into our new name as ‘The Ghosts’,” Kucaj said.