Guiding Questions
Why was this project selected? What problem did our team address?
This project was selected because campus culture and morale has been identified by leaders on campus as something that needs to be improved. The issue was identified by staff and student input through surveys and informal interviews by administrative and counseling staff.
As students, we also would hear regular complaints about the appearance and lack of positive culture/environment of our school. We wanted to work on this - to do something that would bring more smiles to students (and teachers and staff!) and create a sense of belonging and positivity.
What research did you do to find out what has come before or already exists?
We used observational data to find out what has already happened on our campus to help school culture.
Our building is pretty old. The bathrooms are the most notable place inside campus buildings that have painted designs or words. However, over the years, students have chipped or peeled the paint or written in the bathrooms with markers/pens with inappropriate sayings. There are also some quotes on ceiling tiles around the main building. Although they are in the hallways, students and teachers report that they don't notice them much because they "don't walk around looking up."
We wanted our project to be in spaces that could be monitored (just in case!) and more noticeable to students and staff - so we wanted to paint stuff at eye level.