Rebranding History: Andrew Dolloff Describes How His Maine School District Abruptly Changed its Mascot

An Imperfect Leader

Book Update!

Imperfect Leaders! My book, An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is available on Amazon.com. If there is no hyperlink to follow, please go to Amazon.com or peterstiepleman.com. You can order it there.

Intro: Hello Imperfect Leaders! Choosing a name for a public building is a challenging process. With schools, a new name often includes the choosing of a mascot as well. Renaming a school or changing a mascot is often even more difficult. Community members will allege you're erasing history. I was a superintendent presiding over the renaming of Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Missouri! Most recently, I served on a renaming committee in the Seattle area. The committee process was well conceived and thoughtfully carried out by one of the school district’s leaders, Amii Thompson. She made sure to make decisions with those most impacted, in this case, the Suquamish Tribe.

Now, imagine if you were the principal and your school board decided on a Thursday night to remove an offensive mascot effective immediately. My guest is Dr. Andrew Dolloff, superintendent of Yarmouth Schools in Yarmouth, Maine. His After Action Review is about exactly that! Thanks for tuning in.

Bio: Dr. Andrew Dolloff has been the superintendent of schools in Yarmouth, Maine since 2014. He is a 35-year veteran of Maine public schools, having begun his career as a chemistry teacher and basketball coach in central Maine before moving into school administration in Greater Portland in 1996. Andrew has served as a superintendent, assistant superintendent, high school principal, high school assistant principal, and athletic administrator. For 9nearly 10 years he has served a community that is deeply personal to him as his grandfather graduated from Yarmouth High School. I have no doubt that leading in a hometown district must have made it even more meaningful when he was named Maine’s Superintendent of the Year in 2021.

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This episode is brought to you, in part, by the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. The Waters Center helps people understand what systems thinking is and how to incorporate the Habits, tools and concepts of systems thinking into their work and life to achieve desired results. To learn more, go to waterscenterst.org.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.

www.peterstiepleman.com