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Brand Development

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Brand Strategy Copywriting Graphic Design Marketing Strategy

Published Date

Posted August 29, 2025

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Education

Branding & Messaging for a Magical School

Project

Remote

Fairhaven School

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Our goal for this Taproot project is to create a concise, deliverable branding and messaging strategy for our nontraditional independent school. In collaboration with a Taproot volunteer, we want to create language and visual messaging that will attract parents who are looking for a school where their children can thrive. We will use the work product on the school’s website, in social media, in print materials, and in admissions conversations with prospective families.

This project will include the development of key messages and no more than 5 branded design elements.

We are Maryland’s first Sudbury school, a place many alumni refer to as “magical.” Situated on twelve acres with a forest, a stream, an original building we built ourselves in 1998, and a second building with a music studio and a theater space, we have established a unique place where freedom and responsibility coexist for our remarkable students. We are also a true democracy where students of all ages run the school in partnership with the staff. Fairhaven School opened in 1998, but we regularly hear from new families versions of the following statements: “We had no idea you were here” and “I wish we had known about this school years ago.” Typically, between a third and half of our students qualify for reduced tuition, so we are in no way an elite institution. Would you like to support a rethinking of education? We are looking for skilled volunteers to collaborate with us in creating visual branded materials and written messaging to attract more families looking for transformative education.

Entering our twenty-eighth year, each member of our small team believes very much in the school’s mission, and we have a long track record of success. Our Public Relations Committee has approved this pitch. We have always been a DIY organization, so we’re used to hard work! Because each new student adds so much to the school dynamic, we are very motivated to spread the word about Fairhaven School. After almost thirty years of doing our best to explain and promote the school, we are excited to work with professionals. If we find the right partner, we would be an open book, happy to share our current promotional materials, our monthly podcast of alumni and parent interviews, our social media presence, and whatever it takes to generate a coherent branding and messaging strategy. Since we are launching a new website this year, the timing is perfect for a fresh messaging initiative, and we would integrate it into all of our platforms and communications. Your work would matter.

Fairhaven School

Location

Upper Marlboro (we are considered part of metropolitan Washigton, DC), Maryland

Website

https://www.fairhavenschool.com/

Member Since

May 2025

Completed Taproot Plus Partnerships

Organization Mission

The purposes for which this corporation is formed is to foster public awareness, acceptance, and adoption of educational practices based on the Sudbury model of education; to disseminate information regarding the Sudbury model to appropriate institutions, education agencies, and the general public; to receive grants from public and private sources, including foundations, private corporations, businesses, and the general public; and to support the proliferation of the Sudbury model of education in Maryland. The Sudbury model is founded upon the principle that learning is best fostered by self-motivation, self-regulation, and self-criticism; that provides an educational setting determined by the interests of students and teachers, in which equal status shall be given to all pursuits; that encourages members of the community to participate in teaching, learning, and other school activities so that the school may become an integral part of the community; and that allows the opportunities and responsibilities of governing the school to be shared democratically by students, parents, teachers, other employees, and representatives of the community.

Program Focus Areas

Child & Teenage Education

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