In many communities, school spirit is most visible during the pageantry
of Friday night football or basketball games and during Homecoming
Week. But these days, students with notable school pride are also more
collaborative and participatory throughout the year and beyond.
Three in four (75%) students who self-report that they have a lot of pride
in their school plan to come back to their school for special events after
they graduate. “Successful students tend to be more highly engaged in
all aspects of the school,”
concluded one principal.
Whether achieved
through sports, clubs,
special events or
volunteering, students
who value school spirit
appear to be
involved
on many levels
in their school’s brand and legacy
. School spirit equates
to “supporting not only the sport teams of the high school, but performing
community service and the intangibles that make a great high school,”
said a male 12th-grader.
Return on Effort
It appears that students who are proud to be part of something will give
more effort in all they do. In the words of one student, school spirit means
“
putting forth my best effort
to show that I am giving everything that I
have towards being a part of my school’s activities and studies.” In fact,
students with a high level of school spirit are substantially more inclined
than students with low levels of school spirit
to like school
(94% vs. 42%).
And the return on effort doesn’t end there. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of
students with higher levels of school spirit like school a lot compared to
Skin
in
the Game
Successful students
tend to bemore highly
engaged in all aspects
of the school.
- male principal verbatim
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