Every year, the women’s studies class hosts a door decorating contest. Many classrooms in the school get involved, and for a few months of the school year, the hallways are filled with vibrant, hand-crafted displays of women’s historical achievements and contributions.
This year, the contest has already ended and was judged on Friday, May 16. The winner has yet to be announced.
The goal of this contest is to raise awareness for women in different fields, while also bringing classmates together as they construct their doors. This contest was originally run by former social studies teacher Rebecca Layton. Now social studies teacher, Mackenzie Roman, has taken over the tradition.
Roman believes that it’s incredibly important for students to be aware of and celebrate Women’s History Month, which she encourages by continuing the door decorating contest.
“It’s important for the same reason that African American History Month is,” Roman said. “It brings to light people that have been, in the past, through systemic sexism, overlooked.”
For teachers and students participating in the contest, Roman emphasizes the importance of creativity in the process. Although teachers are meant to assist their classes in constructing the doors, the project is intended to be primarily student-led. The project should also focus on women who are important to the class content.
The doors will be judged by a combination of Roman’s women’s history class and school administrators, who use a rubric to evaluate the quality of the decorations. Categories in this rubric include: accuracy, creativity, visual impact, respect and positivity. A new category has been added this year: student ownership which is intended to encourage students to take the lead on this project, rather than their teachers.
“There were just a lot of teachers that were doing doors,” said Roman,
“which was fun, and they still can and are very encouraged to, but they’re just going to be out of the competition. I wanted to make sure that I don’t make people do doors if their kids aren’t interested. I wanted it to be the students.”
Roman remembers one of the most notable past doors being the team effort by math teacher Blake Derhammer and former English teacher Jeffrey Pickell. These teachers used the alcove housing both of their B-wing classrooms to create an entire basketball court featuring female athletes.
Another consistent highlight of the door decorating contest is social studies teacher James Johnson, who has won second place the past two consecutive years. His AP United States History (APUSH) classes are typically in charge of decorating the doors, while he advises their progress.
“I post a Google Form for them to leave their input then I have different roles that they can sign up for,” said Johnson. “Things like putting up the large papers or cutting out smaller items.”
This year, Johnson has two sections of APUSH, which can be slightly more challenging to coordinate. However, he also has twice the number of people putting up the door, which can make the construction process move more quickly.
“We’ve already started a sign-up for first and third hour,” said Johnson. “Students, generally, are pretty motivated to do it. They get a little competitive, especially with an AP class. They’re already driven to be.”
This year, Johnson’s door focuses on women in politics, such as Michigan’s former governor Jennifer Granholm. Some past topics his class has explored have been women in space and flight and the suffragette movement. With the planning process for the door already well underway, Johnson hopes that this year’s door will be the one to break his second-place streak.
No matter the subject, these doors are important features of the third trimester, bringing a mixture of history and creativity to the hallways.
“It’s a positive experience,” said Roman. “It spread a lot in past years, when Layton was doing it, and last year it brought a lot of
excitement and joy. I love that it carries forward, because then people will leave them up and decorated as you walk around. It’s good that it brings the school together.”
