The “heart and soul” of John Carroll has been identified in three simple words: compelling, considerate, and uncompromising.

John Carroll has been and continues to undergo many changes as the new year progresses. The change that has been the most publicized this year has been the new school tagline. The three words: “compelling,” “considerate,” and “uncompromising,” which have replaced, “tradition,” “pride,” and “excellence,” have redefined the school’s identity. These three words that described the Archbishop John Carroll in 1815 are now the words that describe our new and improved school community.

The original motto was created when the school first opened in 1964. Starting in early summer of 2008, the school decided to renovate the JC slogan. “There was a strong feeling throughout the John Carroll community that the identity of the school was varied and unclear,” said Rick O’Hara, President of John Carroll. Because of further renovations that have been planned for the next 10 years, the school felt that in order to proceed, they first needed to clearly answer the question, “What, really, is John Carroll all about?”

“I feel that the vibe in the school is very good, and the new slogan really made a great start,” said Principal Paul Barker, whose job was to promote the new slogan and introduce it to the students and parents.

When Barker introduced the new tagline to the teachers and staff, almost all the faculty, according to O’Hara, was uneasy about the word uncompromising. “Most people who have been here for awhile loved the old tagline and were skeptical about the new wording, including myself,” said Campus Minister Patti Murphy-Dohn.

The Board of Trustees contacted five marketing firm companies, whose job was to aid in promoting and, in technical terms, the “branding” of the school. The school chose a high school centered constituency called The Peebles Creative Group, and initiated the process by sending all of the school’s information to Peebles, including surveys completed by parents, teachers, students, and alumni.

The next step was for Peebles to come to the school, hosting focus groups about the new tagline for students, alumni, parents, and teachers. Working closely with Peebles for close to a year, the school created a single statement, summing up the school’s values: “The John Carroll School Provides a Catholic foundation of values, challenging academics, and real-life experiences so that our students embrace opportunities and excel as responsible participants in a global society.”

The school then discovered Archbishop John Carroll’s obituary, which described him as “compelling,” “considerate,” and “uncompromising.” Thus, the new school tagline was born. “We wanted to make the link between the tagline and the Archbishop John Carroll very central,” said O’Hara.

Barker was slightly anxious to introduce the new slogan to the student body, but “by slowly introducing it to the school, it can eventually integrate the motto into every day school life.”

The students presented mix feelings towards the “face-lift” to the slogan. Some students, such as freshman Megan Rink, feel “the new motto and the button idea are good because they are doing good things for the community.” Other students, such as senior Luke Forrester, said that the new motto “is just words and that students will make of them whatever they want.”

As the times change, so will the school. The new motto is just one of the many modifications that the school will undergo. “If this new tagline helps people relate to Archbishop John Carroll more, then it will be a good thing because he was an exceptional man,” said Murphy-Dohn.

Kirby Browning can be reached for comment at [email protected].