Lamppost-inspired logo needed for unique start-up school

Providence Classical School

We are a startup university-model Christian classical school with a totally fresh approach to primary and secondary education (K-12). Our curriculum will be based on the classical model of education. We will have a hybrid school which will include some classroom instruction and some at-home instruction.

The primary audience for the logo (and subsequent promotional material) will be the parents of school-age children in the Bell County area of Central Texas, although we hope to have some visibility with other constituents. This area lies roughly between Austin and Waco along Interstate 35 and has a total population approaching 300,000. It is part of one of the fastest growing metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. For the most part residents are politically conservative and religiously-minded. Since we are targeting single-income families (or at least families with one parent who only works part-time), much (but not all) of our target market consists of persons with at least an undergraduate college education. Many of the families with whom we are in contact have graduate or professional degrees, also. Most of our target families will be middle class or higher. We also have many medical professionals and military personnel in the area.

This logo will eventually be used on all school materials: letterhead, website, promotional materials for prospective students, and possibly school uniforms.

The logo should include both an icon and text (see attached file as an example of what we're talking about). The text must read "Providence Classical School" or simply "Providence." No strong preference with regard to fonts, so long as it fits conceptually with the rest of the design.

THE ICON MUST INCORPORATE OR BE BASED ON THE IMAGE OF A LAMPPOST. There are several reasons for this, one of which is that "Providence" means divine guidance (in Latin, "to see ahead"). Learning is also described as illumination ("giving light to"), which is nicely symbolized by a lamp.

We love logos using negative space and/or shadow, such as in the attached file and those found here: http://www.graphicdesignblog.org/br…ace-logos/. We don't insist on this, however. Feel free to surprise us!

One negative space idea we would be excited to see involves slightly modifying the shape of the two panes of glass in the lamppost so that they depict an open book. This would nicely show a connection between education and light. Feel free to experiment with other similarly evocative images.

Up to 3 colors is OK, but the logo should still work in B&W.

It would be a plus if the logo could also suggest some classical element (e.g., Roman column, laurel wreath).