In the News

The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education has approved changing the nickname of Clairemont High School’s athletic teams from “Chieftains” to “Captains” to comply with a state law banning the use of derogatory terms for Indigenous people as names for teams.

Clairemont High School’s new mascot will be the Captains, after a name change process prompted by a state law addressing names and mascots derogatory to Native Americans.

Captains will become the new mascot name for San Diego Unified School District’s Clairemont High School starting in 2026-27 school year, if the district’s Board of Education on Tues., Feb. 24 approves the recommendation after a nearly year-long community engagement process.

In a unanimous vote, the San Diego Unified Board of Education on Tuesday night voted to revise its Administrative Regulation and Board Policy 7310 to provide clearer direction on changes to school names and mascots. This change comes after the 2024 passage of Assembly Bill 3074 (AB3074), which prohibits “using any derogatory Native American term” and after several dust-ups over the years involving district school name changes.

Aspen Challenge: San Diego—a partnership between the Aspen Institute and the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) supported by the Bezos Family Foundation—concluded this week after local students showcased their solutions to support their communities and tackle big issues. Over the past nine weeks, 15 high school teams from across SDUSD took aim at critical challenges close to home, with the goal of building a stronger, more connected city.