Which School is Fairest of Them All?

At Scott Carpenter Middle School, Ms. Stephanie Rosch's seventh grade students decided they wanted to improve the image of the school. They weren’t quite sure what they wanted to do, but knew that something had to be done. It was a common sentiment that it didn’t look good.

After working through criteria and research, they narrowed solutions down to three: painting the basketball backboards, painting the trim on the windows, or installing landscaping on the grounds. It was here that students deadlocked. Rather than just pick one, the students split into three groups, each picking a project to research further.

As part of their research, students interviewew their peers to see what improvements they felt were most important to improving the physical appearance of the school. Based on the results, they decided to pursue improvements to the landscaping.

They invited the supervisor of the district grounds department to their class to discuss what requirements were necessary for good plant growth, as well as the procedures for getting new landscaping installed on school grounds.

Despite the hard work of the students the school year sped ahead and they were unable to complete their project in time. However, they have not given up! With commitment from the principal and donations of plants secured, the students plan to meet in the fall to install their plants.