Improve Your School

If you feel like your school is not in the greatest shape, or just isn’t a very enthusiastic place, you may not be alone. By connecting with others, you can create a strong group to work on improving your school. Making physical improvements, increasing educational opportunities, and leading betterment campaigns are all methods for turning your school into a place that everyone can be proud of.

Steps

Enhancing Your School’s Appearance

1. Beautify your school. Increasing your school’s “curb appeal” is one of the fastest and most inexpensive ways of improving it. Take a look around your school and see what kind of cosmetic changes you might be able to easily make. Picking weeds, pruning hedges, planting flowers, giving walls a fresh coat of paint, and picking trash up out of a field or parking lot are all ways of quickly making things look better.
2. Start a garden. A school garden that students and staff can work on is a great way to increase involvement and pride in your school. Talk to your school administrators about getting permission first.
   • A school garden can be whatever type people like—a flower garden, a vegetable garden, etc.
   • Work on the garden can be tied into educational activities. Science classes, for example, can learn about photosynthesis or the life cycle of plants by helping out with the garden.
3. Paint a mural. Making an inspiring painting part of your school is sure to improve it. Your school can start a discussion and vote on the design, which could be a school mascot, a historical figure, a local landmark, etc. Art classes at your school can even get involved with making the mural.
   • If your school wants to commission an outside artist to paint your mural, make sure the design, budget, and timeline for completion are worked out beforehand.
4. Lead a campaign to make your school grounds healthier. Some schools, particularly older ones, may have hazardous substances present, such as lead paint, lead pipes, or asbestos. Removing these substances can be expensive and complicated. However, if members of your school community are concerned about these substances, talk to administrators or the local school board about what can be done to improve the school.

Improving Opportunities

1. Boost activities and clubs. If enthusiasm or a sense of community seems to be lacking at your school, then you may want to increase extracurricular opportunities. There can be something for everyone to get involved in—the sky’s the limit! Campaign to increase participation in activities that your school currently offers, or start a new club if there is interest. Some of the many possibilities include:
   • Sports
   • Cheerleading
   • Art Club
   • Drama Club
   • Garden Club
   • Technology Club
   • Future Business Leaders
   • Mock trial
   • Chorus
2. Make school more engaging. if you feel that your school needs improving because it is boring, don’t give up hope! Talk to teachers, school administrators, and students about developing ways to Make Learning Fun and more engaging. If the goal is to innovate and improve your school, then everyone will be on board and willing to develop ideas.
3. Go green. If you feel like your school would be improved if everyone tried to be more eco-friendly, there are many opportunities to take action. Talk to members of your school community about gathering support for ideas like:
   • Choosing Choose Eco Friendly School Supplies
   • Making sure that recycling bins are available at your school
   • Replacing paper towel dispensers with blown air hand dryers
   • Starting a compost pile
   • Planting trees for Earth Day
   • Having an end-of-the day check to make sure that lights are turned off, windows are closed, and that other techniques to conserve energy are being used.
4. Encourage healthy eating. There are many conversations going on now about improving school meals and eating healthier in general. If these issue are important to you, try leading a campaign to ban candy, junk food, and soda vending machines on your school grounds. You can also talk with your school officials about how to offer healthier choices at meal times.
5. Fundraise. If there is a project at your school that needs financial support, whether it is painting a mural or purchasing school supplies for needy students, you can help start a fundraising campaign. There are lots of ideas, such as:
   • Holding a garage sale
   • Asking local merchants to contribute coupons or gift certificates that can be sold in a raffle
   • Hosting a silent auction for student artwork
   • Hosting a game night with an entrance fee

Making School Inclusive

1. Let everyone join in. Make sure that all students have a chance to participate in activities and games, no matter what their skill level or ability. For example, when playing a game that only takes 8 players at a time, rotate people in and out, so that everyone can have a chance. Letting all students have a chance, even if they aren’t great at the game, will make things more fun and friendly.
2. Be nice to new people. Being new at a school can make a person feel lonely. Whenever there is a new student at your school, make a special effort to make him or her feel welcome.
   • Invite the new student to sit with you at lunch.
   • Introduce him or her to your friends.
   • Make sure the new student is included in games and activities.
3. Don’t gossip or badmouth others. You can help keep your school a positive place by not taking part in talking badly about other people. If others around you are saying mean things, don’t be afraid to tell them that its not nice, and that they should stop.
   • If someone tries to gossip with you, you can say you don’t want to talk behind someone’s back, or just change the subject.
   • If you someone says something bad about someone else, try saying something like: “Hey, that’s not cool. I don’t think it’s fair to talk about [insert name] like that.”
4. Don’t accept bullying. Bullying can be a very serious problem, and shouldn’t be tolerated. If you think there it has become a problem at your school, talk to a school administrator about ways to address the issue. You can also help stop any bullying you witness. If you see someone picking on someone else (offline or online), you don’t have to just let it happen:
   • Don’t laugh or just watch what happens. Say something like: “That’s not nice. Why don’t you leave [insert name] alone?”
   • Be a friend. If you see someone being picked on, make an extra effort to be nice to him or her. It will make a big difference if that person knows he/she is not alone.
   • Avoid physical confrontation if possible.
   • Tell a trusted adult about what you saw happen, whether or not you intervened.

Gathering Support

1. Talk to administrators. If you think that your school needs improvement, you can start by talking to its administrators (a principal or headmaster, for example). You might also attend local school board meetings to voice your opinion. Getting administrative support is important not only because many projects will need official approval, but also because it is a way of communicating your concerns.
   • Don’t be shy about asking to meet with your school administrators. If you are serious about improving your school and have some ideas, most will be happy to hear from you.
2. Ask parents to get involved. Schools aren’t just places for students to learn—they are also an important cornerstone of any community. Families also care about schools and will want to be involved with any improvements that need to be made. Parents can get together at a Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) meeting, school board meeting, booster club event, or other opportunity and consider ways of helping to improve your school.
3. Use social media to gather support. While some people may not think that social media have educational value, social networks can be a powerful tool for organizing people. Make sure that your school is active on all major social media services. If it isn’t, talk to your school administrators about getting started. Anytime your school has an improvement campaign or project going on, advertise it widely using these services to boost involvement.
4. Let people contribute in their own way. Many school improvements will need a lot of support. However, this doesn’t mean that everyone has to contribute in the same way. When raising support to improve your school, make sure that people understand there is room for everyone to help. For example:
   • Some might be great at organizing people, while others will have talents in writing or design.
   • Some will be able to devote time during school hours only, while others will have more time after school hours or on weekends.
   • Some might be able to get involved on the school grounds itself, while others might be great at gathering support for your school within the surrounding community (by fundraising, for example).
5. Ensure that improvements continue. Efforts to improve your school will only have their full impact if they can continue in the future. Creating a sense of school history, or institutional memory, is important for to long-term success.
   • Elect someone to be school historian. He or she can make notes about any improvements that are made to your school, and then pass the information along to the next historian.
   • See if your school can set aside a space for this purpose. This might be a place in the library or office to keep notes on your school history, and/or a memorial wall that can have photos, plaques, and other items to commemorate your school.

Warnings

• Make sure that you have permission from school officials before making any changes to your school.

Related Articles

Become a School Ambassador

Sources and Citations

See also

• Have School Pride
• Be a Good Section Leader
• Write a Speech to Get You Elected
• Get On Student Council
• Become Student Council President of Middle School
• Be a Good Leader at School
• Write a Student Council Speech
• Win Votes in a School Election
• Be Accepted Into the National Honor Society
• Write a Speech for School Elections

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