After years in development, the School Board will vote Thursday night on a new logo for Alexandria City Public Schools, and Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt is recommending Logo 1, according to a staff presentation.
“After careful consideration by the ACPS leadership team and consideration of the community input, the superintendent recommends that the School Board accept Logo 1 as the new logo and brand to represent Alexandria City Public Schools,” ACPS said in the presentation. “Some logo elements may be refined when finalizing the final logo version.”
The preferred option depicts the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, which was initially designed to resemble the lighthouse in ancient Alexandria, Egypt.
“The new logo incorporates the George Washington Masonic National Memorial which was inspired by the lighthouse of ancient Alexandria, Egypt, and designed to reflect the lighthouse in Ostia, Rome,” said ACPS. “The idea was to spread knowledge, which is symbolized by light, a fitting nod to ACPS. The design also incorporates the water that surrounds Alexandria and translates into a pencil to symbolize learning at the tip of the shield.”
The second option combines a school house with a person, with shaded pieces coming together to form the whole student, according to ACPS.
The last time ACPS tried to get their logo changed was in 2022, when the School Board voted 7-2 in denial of several options.
ACPS says that 362 responses from an online forum were important in Kay-Wyatt’s endorsement of Logo 1, along with “careful” consideration by ACPS leadership. The approved logo will be effective following approval by the School Board and implemented throughout 2024.
The forum responses:
Logo 1
- 55.5% believe it represents ACPS
- 30% believe it does not represent ACPS
- 14.4% somewhat believe it represents ACPS
- 64.4% believe it has image appeal
- 44.5% believe it has color appeal
- 27.1% believe it has no appeal
Logo 2
- 16.3% believe it represents ACPS
- 57.2% believe it does not represent ACPS
- 26.5% believe it somewhat represents ACPS
- 20.2% believe it has image appeal
- 30.4% believe it has color appeal
- 61.3% believe it has no appeal
As of Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 16), the ACPS Facebook post on the logos had more than 130 comments, many of which are negative. Many online commenters wrote that the logos represent misplaced priorities by a school system experiencing a staffing crisis.