Words have power. Names evoke emotions. Details deserve attention. Expressions have impact. And impressions are everlasting.
The Annville-Cleona School District has launched a campaign to rebrand its image. It’s an initiative designed to unify the district, clean up any misnomers about past images, and present a more well-rounded, all-inclusive picture to the community.
“The school’s identity is extremely important,” said Tommy Long, who’s been Annville-Cleona’s athletic director for 13 years. “This is who we are moving forward. We want everyone to understand what it means to be an Annville-Cleona Dutchman.”
Included in the rebrand are a strong but modest “A C” logo, a script “Dutchmen” logo, the introduction of “Be a champion” as the school’s official saying, the designation of the official school colors as red and white, and the removal of the costumed Dutchman mascot from the sidelines of athletic contests.
While Annville-Cleona’s identity in the Lebanon County community has been – and will continue to be – very much related to its scholastic sports programs, the move is meant to introduce all members of the Annville-Cleona School District.
“I think that’s what it comes down to,” said Long. “You want everyone to be part of that identity. The goal is when anyone is driving down the street past the school on Route 934, whether they’re thinking of our athletic teams, our music department, or our drama department, it’s that Annville-Cleona is the place where people are champions.”
Currently, Annville-Cleona is about six months into its rebranding project. The plan began to take shape last February with Long’s research into A-C’s identity and the formation of a committee made up of administrators, teachers, alumni, parents, and students.
Once formalized, the rebranding plan was presented to the school board for consideration, although no board action was taken to implement the new policies.
In August, and then again in December, Long sent out emails to 23 members of local media outlets announcing the Dutchmen’s new identity.
“I think it’s going really well,” said Long. “We’ve had a lot of people who’ve been really receptive toward it. It’s become what our school is, what our identity is. It’s our identity for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.”
Over the years, the Annville-Cleona School District has been identified by various crests and logos, with these being the most recent. (Provided photo) 
Over the years, the Annville-Cleona School District has been identified by various crests and logos, with these being the most recent. (Provided photo) Over the years, the Annville-Cleona School District has been identified by various crests and logos, with these being the most recent. (Provided photo) 
Over the years, the Annville-Cleona School District has been identified by various crests and logos, with these being the most recent. (Provided photo)
“When we googled ‘A-C logos,’ we came up with three full printed pages of them. And we were like, ‘Yeah, that’s a problem,’” continued Long. “We linked it to how we want to be viewed moving forward. We definitely had an issue, and we had to clean it up.”
Throughout its long, rich history – which is tied to the history of Annville Township and Cleona Borough – Annville-Cleona School District has employed various logos, symbols, and mascots to represent itself in the Lebanon County community.
At one point in the mid-20th century, the Dutchmen were dubbed “The Little Dutchmen” by a former Lebanon Daily News sports editor in reference to Annville neighbor Lebanon Valley College’s Flying Dutchmen.
More recently, some have referred to Annville-Cleona as the “Fighting Dutchmen” as a way to distinguish the school district from the college. Others still call the Annville-Cleona School District simply “Annville,” sort of a quick, shortened nickname.
“There are stories about how that ‘Little’ all came about,” said Long. “I don’t think anyone ever took it as offensive. Some people called us ‘The Little Dutchmen,’ some people didn’t. Walk up the street, and the college isn’t the Dutchmen. They’re the Flying Dutchmen. But it was important for us to have our own identity.”
“We want to bring the Dutchmen and the ‘Be a champion’ saying together to help form a new tradition,” Long added. “The Dutch settled the area, and some of their characteristics were persevering and hard work. Now, we’re trying to take that to the next level. We asked some alumni, ‘What does it mean to be Dutchmen?’ We took those answers and tried to tie it into it.”
During the 2023-24 school year, Annville-Cleona, the smallest public school district in Lebanon County, provided educational services to 1,455 pupils and employed 123 teachers, 51 full-time and part-time support staff members, and 13 administrators. With Annville-Cleona Secondary School, Annville Elementary School, and Cleona Elementary School, the school district serves 12,477 residents in 40 surrounding square miles.
“We want to inspire all the kids at Annville-Cleona to become champions, not just the sports kids,” said Long. “We want them to realize they can be champions. You can have that mindset and work ethic to get there. That’s what we stand for. That’s what we want our kids to identify as.”
“You’ve got to understand what you want to stand for in your community,” concluded Long. “When we came together as a group, we wanted to inspire our kids to become champions inside. Once they are champions in real life, they can view all the things that helped them to get where they are.”
Engage. Inspire. Empower.
For additional information about Annville-Cleona School District, go to acschools.org.
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