Bathroom quotes empower students at Ohio junior high school

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WKRC) - Sometimes a small gesture can make a big impact.

At Lakota Plains Junior School, some simple phrases are helping empower students.

It all started on social media.

This summer, teacher Megan Huss saw a Facebook post from a school in Alabama. It turned bathrooms into a place of empowerment by writing quotes on the walls.

Some of the teachers at Lakota Plains decided to follow suit. So far, it seems to be working.

The power of positivity can go a long way, especially for students in junior high school, which can be a tough time as they navigate hormones, new friends and increased stress.

"What we have found is that a lot of eighth-grade girls, they feel ugly, they feel like they don't fit in, everybody wants to be a cookie cutter of the next person," Huss said. "So, we are teaching individuals, we are teaching uniqueness, and we want them to know the beauty of them even if they don't look like the next girl."

Teachers at Lakota Plains decided to do something to help, something to inspire, to encourage, even something fairly easy.

They put quotes on the bathroom walls, so when students enter they are reminded just how special they are.

"When I came into the bathroom I started off smiling, I couldn't stop," eighth-grader Paige Worley said. "It means so much to me for other girls to feel confident and when I feel confident it spreads around to other people."

Worley said she's been bullied before, when her mother was a teacher in her grade school.

Caitlyn Crawford, also an eighth-grader, has been teased because of her height, making an impact on both girls' self-confidence.

"The quotes in the bathroom all really help with that because they are just a little reminder there every day that you're doing fine, you're good, and you're beautiful the way you are," said Caitlyn.

These girls are reminded of that every time they make a pit stop.

The teachers also decorated the boys' bathroom.