Head Start Data Mural

In 2013 the Head Start in Somerville Massachusetts had just moved to a new office. The office had white walls and despite a few toys on the floor, the entryway wasn’t very welcoming. The organization was also involved in a collaborative grant to collect data about the body mass index (BMI) of every student, and they were interested in sharing the information in some way. They hoped to find a way that involved the parents who were partnereing on the project. Connection Lab convened all of the grant’s diverse stakeholders, including parents, to look at the data together, to find stories, and to decide what stories they wanted to tell. They settled on a story about the many challenges that families face in helping their kids to be healthy and about the many resources in
the city that can help. Together they designed a mural to tell the story. Over the course of a few days, they painted the mural on the wall of the Head Start’s entryway. In addition to brightening the space, the mural became a tool to support intakes for the program. Now, the staff person who asks questions during an intake can refer to the images in the mural to ask about challenges faced by the family and to share resources.