Community, students work to create colorful murals at schools

Students, staff and community members have worked together to create colorful murals at two schools, Millennial Tech Middle School in the Diamond District, and Lindbergh-Schweitzer Elementary School in Clairemont.

Although the projects are not connected, both are examples of how San Diego Unified schools are supported by the local community.

At Millennial Tech Middle School, the eighth-grade Class of 2014 is leaving its legacy by creating a mural inspired by a poetry unit Ode to EarthLab that took place at the EarthLab, the school’s neighboring outdoor science center. The students applied to be on the mural team by submitting a short paragraph and sketches of local plants and animals to showcase on the mural.

Groundwork San Diego and muralist Todd Stands are leading the project to create the 1,200 square foot campus mural.

With mentoring from community artists, the mural team spent two full days painting images. Student and community volunteers tied the mural team images together with an abstract background of Chollas Creek, the local creek that runs through the neighborhood and EarthLab.
This mural will be an “example for the kids who are shy to show their inner artist” writes Savannah McGill. The mural project was such a success that Millennial Tech Middle school students will be invited to participate in another community mural on 47th and Castana streets.

To find out more about the mural, contact Principal Willie L. Neil at (619) 527-6933; for more about Groundwork San Diego, dial 619-543-0430.

At Lindbergh-Schweitzer, students in rooms 46-47 worked with volunteer Emily Dolton, owner of Art, Murals, Design and Wall Treatments, creating a mural with themes from The Day the Crayons Quit, a popular childrens' book. The result is a beautiful colorful landscape filled with rainbows, airplanes, fish, volcanoes, cars, snakes, mermaids, boats, hot air balloons, helicopters, clouds, jellyfish and more.

Reaching students through stories and art is a passion for Dolton, a mother of two, who serves the school in many artistic ways. Not only does she disguise herself on Read Across America Days as The Cat in the Hat, or The Grinch, she has painted murals on the playground, murals in staff lounges and most recently, the breezeway poles at the entrance to the school.

To find out more, call Principal Deanna Rohde at (858) 496-8400.