By Shane Smith and Dr. Carla Dire Capstick

Shane Smith was hired in April 2008 as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director at the new Westminster (Colo.) High School. He is a former social studies teacher and soccer coach at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs. Carla Dire Capstick, PhD, has been an Assistant Principal at Westminster High since 2007. She has also been Dean of Students at Eaglecrest High School, in Centennial, Colo., and serves on the affiliate faculty at Regis University. They can be reached at: shsmith@adams50.org and ccapstick@adams50.org.

For over 40 years, there's been a spirited athletic rivalry here in Adams County, Colo., between Westminster and Ranum High Schools. Located just a few miles apart, the two schools are very similar in their demographic make-up. They are also both under the auspices of one school district, Adams County School District 50.

But in the fall of 2006, that rivalry changed forever. The district passed a bond to build a new $92 million high school. In 2010, the building will open as the only comprehensive high school in District 50, and Westminster and Ranum will merge. The transition began this past fall, as 9th and 10th graders started attending classes together and the athletic departments became one.

Across the country, many states and school districts are considering merging high schools. Whether it's for economic or academic reasons, it can wreak havoc on an athletic program. Administrators must choose one staff, one tradition, and even one mascot over the other. Here in Adams County, we've dealt with many decisions like these as we combined our two schools.

ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The passage of the bond began a bittersweet reality for Ranum and Westminster. For students and alumni, there were fears that traditions and treasured memories would be erased with the merger. But at the same time, there was excitement about the construction of a new high school, which had not happened in our district in over 35 years.

The first step in beginning the project on the right foot was to understand the desires and emotions of community members. It was imperative that the school district build on the excitement about the future, while honoring the past.

To do this, Superintendent Roberta Selleck and the board of education enlisted help from all of the district's stakeholders: students, parents, staff, and community members. By January 2007, the district formed the CREATE (Conceptualizing Reinvented Environments Aligned To Educational Excellence) Advisory Board, a geographically and demographically representative group of community members. Their charge was to develop a facility master plan, monitor the progress of the new high school, and reshape the school district in order to remain academically competitive. The district also put together a team of staff members and experts in education to provide direction on a new curriculum.

Although athletics was only a small piece of the puzzle at this early stage, decisions about the program started to be made using a similar community-centered process. A committee of students, parents, and staff was put together to propose a new mascot, school colors, and a school name. The committee spent a significant amount of time researching schools and athletic programs from across the country in their quest to come up with the best options.

By the spring of 2008, the athletic committee had narrowed its list of potential names, mascots, and colors. All of the district's staff and students were asked to vote, and once the results were tallied, the top three choices were placed on a final ballot.

The next round of voting was made available to students, staff, parents, and the community at-large, with over 8,000 individuals participating. The top selections were sent to our superintendent and board of education for final approval. Ultimately, an announcement was made that the name of the school would be Westminster High School, the mascot would be a wolf, and the colors would be teal, black, and silver.

Of course, not everyone was pleased with the outcome. But everyone felt they had been given a say and that the process was fair. We had proven that the new athletic program would be formed with the community's input and both schools' traditions would not be forgotten.

A LOT OF HIRING
A key factor in the success of any athletic department is the coaches. The challenge in our situation was that each school had existing coaching staffs. In some cases, both schools had longstanding coaches with great records.

We decided the best way to choose new coaches was to start from scratch. Even though we didn't want to dismiss the ongoing history of a team, we felt it was better to make it clear that each team would have a new identity.

As we had done with the mascot and school name decisions, we asked for community input on hiring head coaches. When possible, interview committees of Ranum and Westminster parents, students, and teachers were assembled to hire each new coach. In forming these committees, we looked for parents who had been involved in the previous athletic programs, veteran teacher-coaches, and students who were recommended by their administrators, coaches, and teachers.

The committees' charge was to interview candidates and forward one or two finalists to the athletic director and principal, who would make the final selection. The process was a lengthy one, given that a separate committee was assembled for each coach to be hired, but it was important to have the community buy-in.

To ensure the interviews followed equitable standards, the athletic director facilitated them, and we put some important procedures in place. For example, we only allowed questions that had been formulated and reviewed beforehand. We also asked interviewers to not discuss the candidates outside of our meetings and not reveal the committee's decision prior to the announcement by the school.

There were many difficult decisions. For example, in some programs, head coaches and assistant coaches from both Ranum and Westminster applied, all of whom were great candidates. Those who were not chosen received a phone call from the athletic director, who thanked them, explained the direction of the school, and offered support in their future endeavors.

In other cases, the decision was made easy because coaches from the two schools decided amongst themselves who would apply for the head coaching position. This provided a smooth transition and strengthened relationships among coaches who had previously worked in different schools.

When hiring assistant coaches, head coaches were allowed to put together their own staffs. We did request that, when possible, hiring committees of athletes, parents, coaches, and teachers from both schools be formed.

In many cases, we were able to assemble people who had ties to both schools, combining to produce very strong coaching staffs. For example, the girls' volleyball coaching staff includes the former head coach from Ranum and assistants from both schools. The girls' basketball staff includes a former head coach from Westminster and former athletes from Ranum.

A few teams will not have staff from either school as some of our newly hired coaches worked outside the district. However, several members of the newly formed staff were previous assistants.

Different coaches are using different strategies to help their blended teams come together. The wrestling program adopted the slogan "unity" and backed it up by doing community service and spending time together socially as a team. The girls' basketball program has a coaching staff that clearly represents both programs and has worked hard to develop relationships among all players (see "In the Trenches" below).

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
Often, it is believed that athletics can be the conduit to building school culture, and we worked hard on doing just that. That meant we needed to be very careful about how we altered each athletic department's systems of operation.

Our first challenge was the athlete registration process. At both schools, in order to register for athletics, a student is required to complete a registration card, sign a document stating that he or she understands and accepts the rules of the school and the Colorado High School Activities Association, have a physical exam, and provide payment for athletic fees.

During the fall sports season, paperwork could be turned in at either Ranum or Westminster. Although easier for students, tracking and forwarding the paperwork became problematic. In order to streamline the process for the winter sports season, the athletic director's secretary (whose office was at Westminster) would be responsible for processing all of the paperwork. But this solution created a new problem, as Ranum students had to make their way to Westminster to turn in their forms. Ultimately, the athletic secretary scheduled time at Ranum to accept the forms. It was a small detail that ended up needing a great deal of attention.

Another question was where student-athletes would practice and host games. The new Westminster High School is being built near the old Westminster High School and is consuming many of the practice fields. Thus, the fall outdoor athletic teams practiced at Ranum. As for winter sports, we decided that indoor venues would be evenly divided between Ranum and Westminster.

We also had to look closely at all our policies and procedures. Most were the same between the two schools, but there was some variation. For example, one school awarded certificates to all students who participated in athletics, while the other did not. These minor differences have been handled by coaches discussing the issues and offering suggestions to the athletic director.

The handling of concessions may have been our biggest challenge. The schools had very different concessions protocols, with Ranum's booster club running all concessions for its school and receiving the profits, and Westminster's student council taking in the profits for its concessions to help cover costs of the prom.

A decision had to be made to bridge the interests of the two groups, but neither would budge on its stake in the concessions. We decided the best approach would be a compromise that required change on everyone's part but still ensured that concessions would be successful.

First, the student council was offered the opportunity to develop student leadership by managing the concessions. In exchange, it was given 25 percent of the profits. The group was required to have one individual at each event to manage the money and inventory.

Second, all athletic fundraising groups were given the opportunity to sign up to work the concessions. (We have one overall booster club along with sport-specific fundraising groups at our school.) This allowed sports that had never had concession opportunities to have the same access as other teams. In exchange for working, these groups could earn 50 percent of the profits.

The remaining 25 percent of the profits has been used to cover the expenses of the concession stands. While the process has not been perfect, it is now equitable for all sports and affords everyone the opportunity to share in the responsibility.

BLENDING TRADITIONS
We knew the toughest part of merging athletic departments would be the blending of school traditions. For many students, tradition turns common social events into lasting memories.

To tackle this issue, we brought together the student councils of both high schools. In the spring of 2008, the old Westminster High School and Ranum High School student councils began meeting weekly. They were charged with planning activities and events designed to build one enthusiastic student body--raising one voice at every event. They responded with creativity and enthusiasm, helping the athletic program in a huge way.

In one of its first decisions, the combined student council's seniors donated money to purchase the new mascot costume. The "live" wolf would energize fans of all ages at pep rallies as well as sporting events, and it set the unified tone we were looking for.

The student councils then organized the merged program's first combined Homecoming in October 2008. This inaugural year's effort focused on honoring the past and introducing the future. The homecoming parade was led by alumni sporting their Ranum Raider and Westminster Warrior gear, who were followed by the current athletic teams wearing their Westminster Wolves attire.

With the homecoming parade serving as a longstanding tradition for both schools, the student council decided to schedule it the weekend before the homecoming football game and dance as a kick-off for the week's activities. Alumni from both schools were recruited to participate in the parade, and many rode in convertibles while wearing their original letter jackets or school logo-adorned clothing. Additionally, each school elected a grand marshal to lead the parade, which included almost 50 floats representing clubs, programs, academic departments, and sports teams. The next week was then peppered with events and activities that excited the student body and culminated in a large turnout for the homecoming football game.

Another tradition we had to negotiate was Ranum's end-of-year banquet, which honored all athletic programs and other school-related activities and presented scholarships to graduating senior athletes. We have decided to maintain the banquet, but change its format to focus solely on athletics. We will also unveil a new award this year: a plaque that lists student-athletes who received a varsity letter in three or more sports during the course of a single year.

CLOSURE & CONTINUITY
One of the tasks that accompanies building a new school is cleaning out the old school. And that means doing something with your memorabilia. We wondered: Should we bring it all to the new school, throw it away, or somehow find it a new home?

We realized that a great way to have closure on the merging process--and fundraise--was to allow community members to purchase many of these items. At the same time, the community told us they wanted the school district to preserve some mementos. It was decided to auction off old uniforms and other apparel, but move awards, plaques, and trophies to the new school.

This small project proved to sum up the key to every aspect of the merger: Respect the schools' histories, build toward the future, and get the community's input. For us, here at the new Westminster High School, the process continues, and we will keep these truths in mind as we complete the transition.

Sidebar: IN THE TRENCHES

By Melissa Garcia

Melissa Garcia is Head Girls' Basketball Coach at the new Westminster High School. She served as Head Coach at the former Westminster High School for four years and was a four-year letter winner at the University of Denver. She can be reached at: mgarcia@adams50.org.

Like most coaches, I usually spend my off-seasons reflecting on the previous year and figuring out how to make the next season even better. But this past off-season, there was much more to think about. With the merging of Westminster and Ranum High Schools, I was given the challenge of blending two girls' basketball programs into one.

But first, I had to apply for the job. As the former coach at the old Westminster High School, there was no guarantee I would be the best candidate for the head coaching position at the new school. In May 2008, during my interview for the post, players and parents asked me how I was going to lead this new program. My answer was that I would get the athletes together as much as I could during open gym time in the spring and have them play together in summer tournaments. I would make sure the two groups got to know each other both on and off the court.

I took the job at the end of May and began to contact every player on Ranum's team last season. As I introduced myself, I explained that I was very excited to be their new coach.

The first open gym was held at the old Westminster High School and to my surprise, only four of my athletes from Westminster showed up, with the rest hailing from Ranum. That meant I had successfully opened the doors to the Ranum players, who knew they would feel welcome. I held a parent meeting and talked a lot about how we are one and there are no longer two teams in the gym.

After getting to know the players from Ranum, my next big task was to assemble my coaching staff. My previous staff at Westminster had been together for four years, but I wanted to open up the search to anyone who was qualified. I formed a committee of two players, one from Ranum and one from Westminster, along with two parents from each school. After a three-week process, the committee decided to hire a current Westminster volunteer coach and two former Ranum players.

In practice, we did some small things every day to help the girls bond as one team. For example, I made a conscious effort to pair players from opposite schools in drills. From the very beginning, we asked players not to wear any of their old Westminster or Ranum gear in the gym.

From there, we never looked back. We are one team and there is a great attitude in the air. Athletes want to be at practice, and they want to be successful. We wear our new teal, black, and silver colors with pride.