the Netherlands, and Japan. Athletics and other co-curricular activities The Dalton School is a part of the Ivy Preparatory School League in athletics. Some teams, such as varsity football, participate in different athletic conferences. Dalton offers 23 varsity teams (including a cheerleading squad) and nine junior varsity teams in the high school athletics program. The school colors were historically gold and blue, although they have been changed to blue and white (based on common misunderstanding). The sports range from squash and golf, to soccer and lacrosse. The school's mascot is a tiger whose name is Ivan. The Daltonian is Dalton's official student newspaper and is published every 2–3 weeks by the High School students. Middle and High School students also produce other publications, including the political journal Realpolitik, literary magazine Blue Flag, visual art magazine Fine Arts, photography magazine Shutterbug, and a middle school blog, the Dalton Paw. Admission Admission to Dalton was according to the following criteria. For kindergarten to third grade, admission is based on school records, ERB testing, and interview. For grades 4–12, admission is based on school records, writing samples, an interview, and standardized testing (e.g., the Independent School Entrance Examination and the Secondary School Admission Test). Candidates receive notification of acceptance, rejection, or wait list in February. As of early 2013, the overall acceptance rate for grades K–12 at Dalton was reported by Peterson's to be 14%. Parental anxiety created by the highly competitive admission process was the subject of press coverage from 1999-2001. Long seen as a bastion of privilege, Dalton's efforts to broaden its mandate for diversity have met with some difficulty. In 2010, a financial aid budget of $6.5 million supported an outreach program for socio-economic diversity at the school. As of this date, students of color made up 38% of the Dalton First Program. In the 2008–2009 school year, the kindergarten was composed of 44% children of color. Articles in The New York Times and The Atlantic have described difficulties experienced by some African-American children at the school. American Promise was a PBS documentary that followed two African American students who enrolled at Dalton as kindergartners and the challenges they faced due to Dalton's lack of diversity In 2020, Dalton found itself in controversy during the broader DEI movement that followed the Murder of George Floyd. The discussions continued into the following school year and resulted in the departure of school