Colorful posters, encouraging words, and even some balloons can be seen decorating the hallways of Lafayette High School. These exciting pieces boast the time and effort of the LHS AP Psychology class, taught by Ms. Norton. She conducts these projects annually to encourage students to make Lafayette a better place. The projects seem to expand each year in size and scope, and often reach beyond Lafayette’s walls into the Williamsburg community. Parents and those living in the WJCC area hear about the projects as students plan and talk about them not only inside, but outside of the classroom too.

Many of the projects this year are focused on student affluence in the WJCC community. To begin the projects, a preliminary survey is disseminated to assess the feelings of the student body prior to the actual project. Based on these pre-project analyses, project-directors adjust to best cater to the student body. At this point, AP Psychology students implement their projects and experiments and wait to see if their projects make a difference. Early results already indicate that changes in student behavior and opinion have been astounding. It’s shocking that a simple poster at the front entrance, an encouraging banner in the hallway, or a welcoming sign in the commons (all popular project elements) can catalyze so much change in the student body. After a specific project has been completed, follow-up surveys are handed out measuring students’ thoughts on how the project affected them and the school.

Some specific project examples that have been particularly interesting include Abby Johnson and Maggie North’s project. The title of their project is “20 Things You Wish You Knew Before High School”. They conducted a preliminary survey to assess a variety of LHS students’ opinions about starting school each year. After the survey, they compiled all the answers and used the 4 most common answers per question to put into a PowerPoint. The PowerPoint will eventually be presented to incoming high school students. Senior Abby Johnson says, “It was a lot of fun to see what everyone thought about Lafayette. You see that everyone is going through something similar when it comes to starting school in a new place.” At the end of the PowerPoint, Abby and Maggie decided to incorporate a YouTube video by “SoulPancake” called “KidPresident: A Letter to Students and Teachers”. It will be exciting to see how the project concludes. In the end, Abby and Maggie hope to make incoming high school students next year feel more comfortable and at home while being at school.

These projects are visibly impacting the WJCC community. From bolstering student pride to assisting those in need of helping hand, the AP Psychology students have impressed the school again. As the projects grow in size, the bar is set higher for incoming AP Psychology students next year.