Our nation’s schools spend a considerable amount of time thinking about what students see when they walk into their buildings. There are conversations about representation, inclusion, belonging, and identity, and most schools now understand that what hangs on a wall or sits in a lobby is not just decoration. It says something about the institution, presents its values and hopes, and tells the story of the people inside it.
Schools put up flags, post slogans, and share statements about inclusion and aspiration, along with many other symbols meant to tell students something about the community they are entering. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but once we accept that walls have meaning, there is a larger question worth asking: What else can school walls do?
