Start Dignity Week by covering the sidewalks and entrances to your school with colorful messages about dignity, belonging, and connection. Students arrive at school literally walking through reminders that they belong, they matter, and they have the power to help others feel the same way.

The best part? Let students create the messages themselves! The examples below can get the ideas flowing, but encourage volunteers to think about what their classmates would actually want or need to hear when they walk into school.

Chalk the Walk makes dignity visible. Students practice recognition, inclusion, and acceptance by intentionally creating messages that communicate: "We see you. You matter. There is a place for you here."

• Sidewalk chalk
• Student volunteers to arrive early
• Permission from school administration or facilities staff
• A list of school-approved sidewalks, entrances, or outdoor spaces
• Optional: music, snacks, or hot chocolate for your chalk crew

1. Get permission: Check with your administration or facilities team about where sidewalk chalk is allowed. Choose high-traffic areas students use when arriving at school.
2. Gather your crew: Invite S4D members, student government, clubs, teams, or anyone else who wants to help. You don't need a huge group.
3. Brainstorm before you chalk: Ask "What would you want to read walking into school on a hard day? What could make someone feel like they belong here? What would sound genuine coming from students at our school?"
4. Start creating: Spread out and fill the approved spaces with words, questions, drawings, and messages. Keep them short enough that students can read them while walking.
5. Make it yours: Include school colors, mascots, inside jokes that include rather than exclude, student artwork, or specific messages to your community.
6. Watch what happens: If possible, have chalk crew volunteers near the entrances as students arrive. Notice what people stop to read, photograph, or talk about. Take pictures to document reactions.

Turn Chalk the Walk into a schoolwide takeover. Assign different clubs, teams, classes, or grade levels their own section of campus, each answering a different dignity prompt. Extend beyond the front entrance — sidewalks between buildings, athletic entrances, staff parking, bus drop-off zones, or other approved spaces (some cities allow schools to use nearby roads and sidewalks, too). Photograph the finished artwork and turn it into a Dignity Week reel or slideshow before the rain takes your masterpieces away.

Grab one box of chalk and three friends. Pick the main entrance and write 10–20 messages before school. That's it! If students can't chalk school property, use butcher paper, posterboard, or large "sidewalk squares" inside the school to create a Walk of Dignity in a hallway instead.

Chalk the Walk Quick Inspo (above) · optional Chalk the Walk Brainstorm Sheet