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The Summit School

Jamaica Estates, NY

Challenge: To report on and promote the many 

positive events and programs that go on at the 

Summit School, particularly in this case, the fact that 

monies raised in the school’s capital campaign were 

being “constructively” used to add a 7,500 square 

foot addition to Summit’s Upper School building. 

Solution: Pictures, lots of pictures – each one is 

worth a thousand words!

Challenge: The Summit School needed a generic 

invitation for a series of gatherings to educate the 

parents about the newly-launched capital campaign. 

Solution: This copy line reminds parents that the 

success of the Summit program is the result of the 

partnership between school administrators, faculty, 

students, and their families. This invitation reminded 

parents that they are an essential piece, and that this 

is a time when their help is needed.

Challenge: Devise a way for families, unable to 

commit to a multi-year, larger capital-campaign gift, 

to participate by making one-time gifts at the level at 

which they are most able.

Solution:  Remembering the old adage “ When times 

get tough, the tough go shopping,” an actual 

shopping list was created to include many of the items 

that were needed to outfit the classrooms in the new 

addition. By offering a variety of price levels, people 

were able to “opt in” rather than “opt out” of the 

fundraising campaign efforts. 

Challenge:  LearningSpring School is a NYC 

independent school for children who have been 

diagnosed on the autism spectrum, more specifically 

with Asperger Syndrome. The Board of Trustees 

initiated an award to be given at their annual 

fundraising benefit, honoring those who had made a 

significant contribution in their advocacy to this cause. 

Solution:  Being “on the spectrum” has become the 

terminology commonly used to identify people with 

this diagnosis. Well, I just took the icon of the color 

wheel – a spectrum of another sort – and we named 

the award The Spectrum Award in an attempt to flip 

the negative impact often associated with “being on 

the spectrum” into a colorful new spin.  

Challenge:  The school decided to hold its first-ever 

alumni reunion! How could I get the message to 

alums so that they would know what they could 

expect and bring them back into the high school 

state-of-mind one more time?

Solution: I decided to use the dictionary definition to 

convey the message. 

Challenge:  In addition to a rigorous academic 

program TCCA offers three unique programs as it 

prepares its students for a productive life after high 

school. We wanted these booklets to be able to either 

stand together or stand alone.

Solution:  Using the school color identifies them as a 

unit, yet putting a basic circle, square, or triangle on 

the front lets the reader know that each brochure 

tells a different story.

Challenge:  The International Charter School is 

unique for its 50/50 bilingual, full-immersion, dual-

language instructional model, in which students learn 

in English and Spanish, or in English and Portuguese. 

In an effort to begin to build a “culture of giving,” the 

administration wanted to educate the parents about 

some ways funds had been acquired that year, and by 

example, stimulate thoughts for ways families might 

consider donations and/or contributions.

Brochure outside

Solution: The communication called for a 

straightforward presentation of information on the 

variety of options available, supplemented by 

wonderful heartwarming photos of ICS students. 

(Each printed piece is produced in all three languages 

– always a bit challenging, as the Spanish is 

considerably lengthier than the English – so this has 

to be factored into the initial design scheme.)

Challenge: Each year the school holds its annual 

Primavera! event on the first weekend of spring, 

intending to create a party environment where all 

members of the school community join together for 

good food, good entertainment, and good shopping 

opportunities, as they raise needed funds for the 

school.

Solution: Happy happy happy – shown in Spanish 

here, but printed in all three language of the school – 

in an attempt to set the mood for the fun to be had 

by coming to the party.

Challenge:  To create a vehicle to promote the 

school, educate people about the school, and 

fundraise on behalf of the school. 

Solution: The Children’s Garden seemed like the 

perfect showcase as, in addition to generating a crop 

of more than 21 vegetables, fruits, and herbs during 

the summer previous year, activities in the garden are 

fully integrated into the math, science, and health 

and wellness curricula, and showcase the multi-lingual 

culture of the school. 

Parents were asked to contribute family recipes that 

included at least one of something grown in the 

garden. All recipes were printed in a color-coded 

format (English in blue, Spanish in orange, and 

Portuguese in green). Illustrations made by students 

and sparkling photographs were included to highlight 

the unique qualities of this wonderful school.

Challenge: To create a stand-alone promotional piece 

for the Information Services (technology) Department 

that would mesh with other university publications.

Solution:  Respecting the black-and-gold combo

established by Bryant’s in-house publications 

department, this packet is made up of eight step-

cards neatly layered, four on the right, four on the 

left, each with “hip” photography on the face and a 

detailed description of each feature on the back.  

Challenge: To design a communication on behalf of 

this independent school for children of normal to high 

intelligence who struggle with learning disabilities, as 

an announcement to both parents and potential 

donors at the launch of Churchill’s $21-million-dollar 

capital campaign to include the renovation and move 

to a significantly larger building, allowing enrollment 

to double and the addition of a high school. 

Solution:  Previously, the school was located in two 

back-to-back brownstones, without a gym, a library, 

a transparent overlay that shows the dramatic 

increase in size. Listing the actual rooms on each 

floor, and then making note of the direct impact on 

the program, helped viewers to realize the spectacular 

difference this new facility would have on the valuable 

educational program offered at Churchill. And it did!