Next year will mark our school’s tenth anniversary. We are proud to be able to say that over these past years, all of us together—teachers and staff, students and parents—have built something truly special. In celebration of all we have achieved together and in preparation for our continued growth, we are refreshing our brand, including a new name, identity, and messaging. Our goal is to present ourselves in a manner that is more reflective of who we are as a community and what we want to become as an institution.
We have been working on this project since last fall, with the help of several parents who been incredibly generous in giving their time and marketing and communications expertise, as well as an outside branding agency, and, through interviews and surveys, with input from many of you. Last night, with great excitement, we unveiled the results!
Our name
Starting in September 2018, we will call ourselves “The École”. To become a well-known institution—and a strong brand—we must have a name that everyone can easily and immediately say, understand, and remember, no matter what language they speak. The École is short, simple, and straightforward, and the combination of English and French in our new name is a hint that we are a French-American school—and reflects fluidity with which our students can move from one language to the other.
Our identity
We have designed a beautiful new logo, which we call the “Conversation Mark”. It is made up of five dialog boxes, intentionally arranged to represent close, community connection and a dynamic, bilingual conversation—while also forming a monogram E. To reflect all our individual, international origins—and our common, joyous spirit—we are adopting an unusual approach to color, allowing our new logo to appear in six different shades.
Our message
The “Light through language” phrase, which we used as the title for last night’s Gala, is also the title of our new school story. It is the shorthand we will use to tell the world about our unique focus: to instill in our students the lifetime benefits of a bilingual education, empowering them to create and connect to a world filled with possibilities. It will be supported with deep messaging we have created for every level of the school, from Maternelle to Middle School, explaining how our staff and teachers artfully blend two languages—and two educational systems—to gift our students with agile minds, open hearts, and bright futures.
We are starting the process of converting all our communications materials. Our plan is that by September, everything, including our website will be updated. We will of course have much more news for you about these changes over the next several weeks—including, importantly, what it means for uniforms. But for now, I hope you are as excited as I am about our new brand—and for our next chapter as The École!
