If you’ve walked the halls of Central recently, you may have noticed new purple and white signs with large arrows on the walls. The signage overhaul, started by Assistant Principal Jodi Dierks, is intended to help individuals navigate the building, while bringing safety and aesthetic upgrades.
In the past few years, particularly after the pandemic and “devious licks” trend, Dierks noticed that signage around the building was inconsistent, broken, or missing entirely. Last summer, she took the challenge head on, hoping to make the building more passable and standardize the placards.
“I just think of all the times I’ve had to help people around the building and thinking, there should be a sign there,” Dierks said.
Dierks inventoried the whole school, locating old or damaged signs, discovering which areas were hard to navigate, and where signs would be best placed.
“It was a lot of me walking around the building with a clipboard and taking pictures, saying, ‘Okay, I want this here and writing it down exactly how I want it,’” Dierks said.
“There was no signage for the new addition at all,” Dierks said.
All sides of the fourth floor also received signs.
“Many students forget that fourth floor doesn’t go around and blindly walk up the stairs, only to groan when they remember and have to go back down and around to the correct side,” said Jennifer Emanuel, a math teacher who teaches on the fourth floor.
Additionally, the up and down signs on all staircases, which were previously Omaha Public Schools-branded and put up during the pandemic, are now dual OPS and Central-branded while being fixed into the walls.
After identifying areas where signage was needed, Dierks created a rough graphic of what she wanted the signs to look like and sent them to P&P, OPS’ printing vendor, who fulfilled the order. OPS said Central paid $379.77 for 16 signs.
The signs are expected to be most helpful for those new to the building, such as freshmen and visitors.
“I’m excited about the new signage, and really hope it helps freshmen find their way,” Emanuel said.
While the signs would be most helpful for those new to the building, it also became apparent that signs would be helpful for others, such as custodians and substitute teachers, a point Dierks has emphasized during the signage update.
“We want substitutes to return, but if they have a bad experience, can’t find where they’re going, and feel lost, then they may not return,” Dierks said.
Updates to signage will continue as the building evolves. Administration believes areas in need of signage will continue to be found over the upcoming years.
