The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts began the celebration of its silver anniversary by unveiling a new logo and tagline on Thursday.
The new logo features an equilateral triangle with a two-fold flame in the middle. The new mark honors the previous logo by including a flame while offering some additional features that reinforce the values of the school including:
— The three equilateral sides of the triangle represent the institution’s equal commitment to its academic programs — mathematics, sciences, and the arts, which are all part of the school’s mandated mission.
— The combination of the triangle and flame creates a stylized A for Arkansas and symbolizes the school’s dedication to providing the state’s public school students—both on campus and at schools throughout the state— and teachers with unique learning and professional development opportunities.
— The top of the triangle points upward representing a commitment to innovation that leads to a more diverse workforce able to meet the growing technological, financial and manufacturing needs of the state’s growing economy.
To coincide with the new mark, ASMSA also introduced its new tagline — “Igniting Arkansas’ Potential.” The mark and message work together to reinforce ASMSA’s unique mission of serving talented and motivated students who have an interest and aptitude for mathematics and science as well as a passion for creativity, humanities and the arts.
The mark and message build upon ASMSA’s reputation as one of the top public high schools in the nation. In the past five years, Newsweek and The Daily Beast have ranked ASMSA among the best public high schools in America. Since 2015, ASMSA has been named among The Washington Post’s “Public Elites,” or one of the nation’s Top 25 public high schools.
“The people of Arkansas have made a special investment in our state’s future potential through creating and sustaining ASMSA,” said ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “The school’s residential experience for motivated high school students, distance education initiatives, teacher training programs, and out-of-school enrichment activities, underscore our vision to improve learning for students across Arkansas. In that regard, we’re proud to be Arkansas’ high school.”
Introducing the new logo and message is the beginning of a two-year celebration of the school’s opening and the graduation of the first class of students. Created as the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences by Act 259 of the Arkansas General Assembly in 1991, the school’s first cohort of students held its first day of classes on Aug. 23, 1993, 25 years to the day of Thursday’s announcement.
Other highlights of the celebration of the school’s silver anniversary scheduled for the 2018-19 academic year include:
— an inaugural Alumni Summit in October focusing on technology, entrepreneurship and economic development;
— a new community and economic impact study to be conducted later this year;
— the opening in January of the $4.7 million Creativity and Innovation Complex, the first new academic building to be constructed on campus in the school’s history; and
— a Silver Gala on March 27 to celebrate the school’s anniversary.
The new mark will be featured prominently on the completed Creativity and Innovation Complex. It is the result of several months of work by members of the school’s Mission and Innovation Committee and school administration with Little Rock firm Cox Minshall Winans.
“Anniversaries are appropriate times to celebrate past accomplishments while setting the stage for future growth and opportunities,” Alderdice said. “The process of designing these new representations of the ASMSA experience have led to some exciting conversations about the values of our students, faculty, and stakeholders while renewing our commitment to leading the way for education in Arkansas.”
The simplicity of the new mark will provide easy-to-use opportunities across campus. It will be phased in over time in order be cost effective. Updating digital identities and admissions materials will be the first priority. Other items, such as letterhead, envelopes and similar materials will be phased in as needed. It will also provide unique opportunities for various departments of the school to brand themselves individually while maintaining a shared and cohesive brand.