Friday, October 20, 2017

Positive Messages Pop Up in Girls Bathrooms

Can't see the video? View it here.

With all the messages young girls are being exposed to about what it looks like to be beautiful, a Mansfield ISD principal took the initiative to ensure that girls on his campus know the true meaning of beauty.

Matthew Brown, principal of Donna Shepard Intermediate School, heard of a school that decorated positive messages inside of the girls bathrooms, and he decided that it would be a great thing to incorporate at his new campus as well.

“One of the first things that I thought about as I toured the building this summer was that we had an opportunity at our school for that kind of advertisement for our kids,” said Brown.

He posted the idea on the school’s Facebook page and was pleasantly surprised about how many parents wanted to help.

Moms gathered on campus to complete the project.
“There were a lot of moms interested in helping and volunteering,” said Tracie Whittler, a parent who took the lead on the project. “Having two young ladies myself, I just think any type of inspiration you can give them to be themselves and know that they’re beautiful is amazing.”

Whittler said parents have pitched in to buy supplies, print the material, cut the vinyl and mount the artwork. The decorations will be on display in the girls bathrooms and locker room on stall doors and mirrors.

Brown has two daughters of his own and said this project hits close to home for him.

“My whole goal in this was to look at what really makes our students beautiful,” Brown explained. “That’s in our values at MISD. We talk about being resilient and putting others first. That’s what I wanted our girls to see.”