NEWARK — Newark will always be the home of the Wildcats in crimson and white, but the Wildcat is going to look a little bit different later this year.
The Newark City School District has signed an agreement with Varsity Brands to provide branding services, including a re-designed mascot, district logo and word marks for each school. The agreement, approved by the Board of Education in December, provides branding services at no additional cost due to existing purchasing agreements with other companies under the Varsity Brands umbrella.
The rebranding process will unite each of the district’s 13 schools under the same mascot and colors. This will allow for consistency in look and feel across the entire district.
“Uniting under a common brand will help us provide a consistent experience for all students across the district,” District Superintendent David Lewis said. “It is important for us to communicate effectively and promote our district in a clear, consistent and professional manner.”
Newark has been the Wildcats since 1927. While many of the district’s elementary and middle schools have additional mascots — lions, tigers, jaguars, eagles and more — students have graduated as proud Wildcats for nearly 100 years. With this change, all students will be Wildcats from preschool through graduation.
“Students will be Wildcats from the day they step into a Newark school until the day they graduate,” Lewis said.
Multiple conversations between administrators, Board of Education members, and parent and teacher advisory groups led to the decision to become Wildcats district wide.
The district is currently at the beginning of the rebranding process, and a small team is working with Varsity Brands to develop the new look. The goal is to debut the new logos later in the spring, prior to the end of the school year.
When the process is complete, NCS will have a new district logo, athletic logos, word marks for each school, and separate Wildcat mascots for middle and high school and elementary schools.
article credit Newark City School
