Six years ago, tensions arose after Fieldston pivoted away from its abstract oak tree school logo. The beloved tree became an abstract sun, causing an uproar among members of the community who held the original emblem close to their hearts. Several articles, featured in our very own Fieldston News, covered the change and the reactions that ensued. The News wrote several editorials against “the sun” and blasted it as appearing too corporate. Many claimed that the tree was a core symbol of the community and had been so for decades. They saw beauty in the tree: an organic, growing and living creature that the sun simply could not compare to. However, others believed that the true beauty lay in how the logo adapted and transformed, reflecting a core Fieldston value of leaning into change and flexibility.
The tree logo first appeared in a 1911 edition of Inklings and represented the school from the 1970s up until August of 2018. In short, the tree, affectionately known as “the broccoli” by many, has been around for decades. The bond between it and the Fieldston community has persisted for just as long. The tree’s meaning seems to be somewhat all-encompassing: the roots illustrate a grounded education, and the branches depict the organic growth of a diverse community. The sun, on the other hand, sprung into existence six summers ago to connect our school image to our slogan, fiat lux, meaning “let there be light,” and our official school seal of a sun rising out of an open book. Articles by the Fieldston News have called the sun out for seeming corporate, while others admire the modern change. Perhaps this logo represents not only enlightenment and learning, but the dawn of a new era for our school—changing with the times instead of standing by as the world modernizes around us.
One teacher recalls, “The ‘tree of Fieldston life’ had itself morphed over the years starting in the late 1970s. An individual tree became three trees representing Ethical, Lower and Upper. Then it became four trees. But four trees were too many trees to depict. So it became one tree representing ‘one school’ with several branches. And that was our little abstract orange oak until the school rebranded it and rebranded the school. Sometimes things get lost in the rebranding.”
“It came as a shock to many students,” Eliza Kelly wrote in her 2018 article, “Opinion: Why the New Logo Should Be Embraced” in The Fieldston News. She posed the question, “is it really the logo that people are upset about? Or, is it the newness, unfamiliarity and change that comes with it?” With that in mind, we decided to go out and find the answer for ourselves by interviewing members of our community.
When asked what the sun logo represented in their eyes, one anonymous Form III student, who has attended Fieldston since Pre-K, said, “I want to know more about the meaning.” They explained that they felt they had an understanding of the tree’s symbolism and connections with the history of the school, but wanted to know more about the significance of the sun. “At the end of the day, I grew up with the tree.” John Keithline, a Form III student, agreed. “I understand why [the tree] has meaning. I think it’s nice looking. It’s very clean and minimalist,” he said. But, like others, he felt an affinity with the messages of the tree. “I think that the tree is more reminiscent of our values as a school about… progressive learning.” Sabrina Stein, a Form V student, shared a similar nostalgia for the tree: “In only a matter of a few years I found myself emotionally attached to the… tree.”
Paloma Sommer, a Form III student, shared her perspective as someone who joined Fieldston after the logo was changed. “I honestly like the sun logo,” she said. “It is very minimalistic, while still incorporating orange into it.” Sommer also explained what she thought the sun logo meant. “Maybe it represents how ECFS is essentially the sun that brings the community together.” She thought the logo change was the school’s step in a new direction, saying it “represents our school’s pivot to a more modern take on what the ECFS community is.” She raises the prospect that perhaps our school was in need of a change.
Noa Saviano, a form VI student, felt a strong affinity with the tree, explaining that the old logo truly embodied the school’s values and beliefs. “The tree really represents what Fieldston is to me and the sun just feels very detached because nobody really embraced it after it was implemented … it feels like more of a corporate logo than a progressive school’s learning environment.” Saviano continued. “I think the idea is that the sun represents the same ideals as the tree, just modernized, but it just seems detached from the initial mission of the school.”
Tony Marro, the dean of the class of 2028, expressed his thoughts on the matter. “Change, particularly in schools, is difficult,” he said. “There were many people that didn’t like the change.” In the end, however, he thought that our community as a whole meant more than just a logo. “We are so much deeper than a picture of ‘something’. I don’t know what a change of logo represents, [but] it certainly doesn’t change our mission as a school.” It seems that maybe the differences in our opinions are what makes Fieldston great. After all, we are a school that stands for supporting each other, listening to each other and amplifying each other’s voices.
Returning to Kelly’s question about whether the new logo is the problem or if it is really just the change, it seems that in this process of adapting to change, we have learned to move forward together with differing opinions, strengthening our community even further. The goal is not necessarily to come to a consensus, an agreement about “the one right answer,” it is to understand and respect others’ voices while still holding onto our own. So in the end, our opinions may differ, but our communal roots will always stay strong.
