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Got Motto?
Twelve Slogans to Help Build School-Wide Community

You've seen those celebrity-filled "Got Milk" magazine ads? Now it's time to meet the "Got Motto" poster principals! They're using school-wide slogans to spur enthusiasm, inspire teamwork, and build school community. Included: Twelve mottos for your consideration.

"The Key Is Me"
"Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day"
"Anchored In Excellence"

Those are just a few of the mottos used in schools led by members of Education World's "Principal Files" team. While the mottos might seem little more than catchy slogans, our principals report that they are far more. Those simple slogans are guiding forces for entire school communities. They help set a positive tone, establish big-picture goals, focus teachers and students, and improve discipline and student achievement.

"THE KEY IS ME"

Not many schools introduce a new motto each and every year, but at Saturn Elementary School in Cocoa, Florida, principal Michael Miller sees the school slogan as part of an evolutionary process.

When Miller arrived at Saturn seven years ago, he began his team-building efforts with the motto "TEAM Saturn." Over the years, that motto has been spun into a variety of theme-based slogans, including

• "Saturn Is on the Right Track," which employed trains as a visual symbol;
• "We Are on the Quality Trail," which was based upon a western theme during a year in which Dr. William Glasser's Quality School training was a school-wide professional development focus; and
• "Student Achievement Is Always Higher and Higher," which was emblazoned on a huge, inflatable "hot-air balloon" that floated over the school's parking lot all year long.

This year's theme at Saturn Elementary is "The Key Is Me." In addition to the bulletin boards and banners that each class displays outside their classrooms, Miller reports that the theme has unlocked a treasure chest of creative ideas. For example, the school's music teacher and her husband created a theme song that the school chorus sings at concerts; a huge key in the school's media center has every student's picture on it; and the theme appears on buttons that are given to all school visitors.

Miller believes that changing the motto yearly helps to keep everyone's interest. "The goal of the motto is that it be catchy and meaningful to the teachers and students," Miller told Education World.

From time to time, Miller will pull out banners that carry the slogans from previous years. "We do a little reflecting on what has happened school-wide over the years," he said. Teachers share stories of how the slogans influenced their thinking, and how they used them to create special bulletin boards and classroom activities.

"Reflecting on our past slogans is a good way to unite the team and for us to see how far we have progressed as a school," added Miller.

"LEARNING WITH LOVE AND LAUGHTER"

At Rennie's River Elementary School, in St. John's, Newfoundland (Canada), a single school motto -- "Learning with Love and Laughter" -- has been a strong presence during principal Cathy Finn-Pike's six-year tenure.

"Our motto is easy to remember, it is child-focused, and it highlights our philosophy about how children learn best when learning takes place in a fun and caring way," Finn-Pike told Education World.

"The development of a school motto has been one of the most effective things that we have done as a school community," Finn-Pike explained. "It has helped develop a sense of community identity, and it serves as the backbone for all we believe and do at school. It is the light that continues to guide us and pull us back on track whenever we lose sight of the big picture of what we strive to be. It is a message, remembered by all, that reflects our beliefs and philosophies about learning."

"Our motto is well known by students, staff, and parents," added Finn-Pike. "We refer to it all the time. In addition, the motto is posted throughout the school and it appears as the footer on school stationery, parent newsletters, the 'Monday Memo' staff bulletin, and the school's Web site.

"Our motto is visible in print, and in action, each and every day."

"AS I ENTER THESE DOORS I AM PREPARED TO LEARN"

A school motto, by definition, should be simple and concise. It should also serve as a powerful representation of what goes on inside the walls of the school. That is crystal clear at Fair Plain Renaissance Middle School in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where the school motto -- "As I enter these doors I am prepared to learn" -- appears on walls and on written communications. More important, though, "it is on our lips every day," said Dr. Layne Hunt, the school's principal.

The simple and concise motto "gets to the point of the environment we would like to create here," added Hunt. "We want an environment that promotes teaching and learning for everyone -- from the principal to the food service worker -- who enters our doors. People inside and outside our building know our motto because we restate it whenever the opportunity presents itself."

The motto helps to focus both staff and students. It serves as a fallback for motivating, encouraging, and even disciplining students, said Hunt. When a student gets off task, the teacher can ask "Why are you in school today?" and await the response "I am here to learn."

"I can even use the motto with my staff," said Hunt. "If someone displays a reluctance to accept change, I might ask 'What should you be prepared to do when you enter our doors?'"

"IT TAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCES
TO MAKE A DIFFERENT WORLD"

Oakridge Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia, is home to 440 students representing 60 countries. Students in the school speak 30 first languages other than English. So the school motto, "It Takes a World of Differences to Make a Different World," clearly fits this diverse school community.

The school motto appears as the title and the last line of the school song, which is about differences and how each citizen of the world has a special purpose and place, explained Dr. Lolli Haws, the principal at Oakridge.

"We also use the motto as the footer line on our stationery and all materials we publish from the school. It is painted in large letters in our commons area, and it appears in an eye-catching style on the wall of our cafeteria," added Haws.

The motto is a powerful reminder to the school's staff, which is as diverse as the student body. "It always reminds us of who we are and how we are all contributing in some way, but in different ways," said Haws.

At the start of the current school year, students and teachers created a huge graph that illustrated the school population by country of origin. Many teachers used that graph, which is on prominent display in the school's entryway, as a lesson resource. "In addition, we highlight a continent each month," said Haws, "and next year we will feature 'this is my story' to enable all kids and staff to accent our diversity and the places from which we come."

"Our motto has given us an identity as a school, and it has helped everyone attach to a theme that reflects who we are in a way that also generates pride and feelings of special-ness," added Haws.

"EVERY CHILD, EVERY CHANCE, EVERY DAY"

Over a three-month period, the team at Shallowater (Texas) Intermediate School worked collaboratively to create a vision statement for their school. "Working collaboratively was the critical piece of developing a vision that is owned by all stakeholders," principal Jack Noles told Education World. The school's entire site-based management committee took part in the effort and kept all parents apprised of the process and progress. The result was a vision statement that summarizes the input of all members of the school community: "Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day."

"I personally try to keep the vision at the forefront of every conversation with staff, and when I meet with members of the community too," said Noles.

What Noles likes best about the school's shared vision statement is that it is simple yet profoundly powerful. "It takes the guesswork out of decisions or evaluations relating to students," he said. "Quite simply, it brings every conversation back to the essential question, 'Have I done everything I can to positively affect kids today?'"

Teachers can evaluate every decision they make by relating it back to the school's vision statement, added Noles.

While the vision is heavily focused on what the staff and other adults of Shallowater can do for kids, the students are very well aware of the vision too. "That opens up the possibility of sharing it in conversations with them. We can use it to show that everything we do at school is focused on helping them, and that they, in turn, have a very critical role in their own education."

"I've not found a single instance in which our vision statement did not help us to assess what we are doing for kids."

"ANCHORED IN EXCELLENCE"

At Sarah Smith Elementary School in Atlanta, "Anchored In Excellence" is more than a motto. It is a way of life. The school's motto appears on letterhead, student agendas, and school newsletters. It is included in the school's student handbook and referred to by the Student Council, Safety Patrol, and Beta Club. The motto is displayed during assemblies and awards ceremonies too.

Besides being visible, the motto is referred to frequently enough in conversation that it has become part of the school culture "by osmosis," said principal Sidney Baker. "We remain focused on excellence in all we do -- academically, in extra-curricular activities, in professional development... and in behavior, where student are encouraged to strive for excellence and 'anchor' themselves in being excellent persons in every way."

An anchor has become a symbol for the school, Baker added. "We were named a Blue Ribbon School in 1999, and we continue to anchor ourselves in the pride we felt at that time."

And from all indicators, the school continues to cruise smoothly along. Most recently, it was featured in Atlanta magazine (January 2006) as one of "The Best Schools For Your Kid."

"I'M KING OF THE JUNGLE..."

A lion is the mascot at T.R. Simmons Elementary School in Jasper, Alabama, so the school's motto should come as no surprise:

As in many other schools, the Simmons motto is present in many places and in many ways. It is posted throughout the school, it appears in the school's School Improvement Plan, and it is recited daily following the Pledge of Allegiance during the morning announcements that are broadcast live on the school's TV station, WTRS.

"Wherever you are in the school, our students, staff, parents, and visitors can see the positive rules -- the highlighted three R's of Respect, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness. They are posted throughout the school, and they are the cornerstone of behaviors we expect at T.R. Simmons," principal Jim Clark told Education World.

"Teachers use our school motto to support those school rules," added Clark. "Our motto keeps our school goals and rules at the forefront every day."

"WHERE CHILDREN COME FIRST"

Several years ago, the state of Louisiana began the push for universal, public-funded preschool and Caldwell Parish was one of the first to step up and use grant funds and local money to offer preschool to all children regardless of income status.

Monica Coates is principal of Caldwell Parish Preschool, where the school's slogan, "Where Children Come First!", has both literal and figurative meanings.

"The motto is very literal, since we are usually the first school our students attend, but the slogan has deeper meaning because our faculty strives to put the children first in all of our decisions and activities. As we plan activities, we remind ourselves that they are all about the students. Sometimes the things we do over and over every year get old to us, however our students are only with us one year.

The school's motto is everywhere, added Coates. "It is visible on our school letterhead, on school T-shirts that are worn on field trips, and in our office and the hallways. It is a constant reminder to teachers, parents, and visitors that at Caldwell Parish Preschool Children Come First!"

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Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2008 Education World

Originally published 03/27/2006
Last updated 10/28/2008