Revere Middle Schoolers Paint Award-Winning Safety Mural

Paul Revere art students won second place in a recent citywide traffic safety mural contest. The students’sixth, seventh and eighth graders’painted a mural about pedestrian safety with the theme of ‘Be Smart, Don’t Dart.’.” ”’A boy at our school got hit by a car and died; we did this for him,’ said sixth grader Angelica Huggins, referring to the death in September of sixth grader Carlos Macario. He was killed while crossing Sunset at Allenford when he ran across the busy street, against the light, to catch a bus home. ”The students designed and painted the mural themselves as part of an afterschool class led by art teacher Pennie Dobkin. As part of their prize, the school received a check for $500 to benefit the art program, and each student received a certificate and a bag of goodies from the sponsors. ”The contest was sponsored by the LAPD, Auto Club, the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association), and the Otis School of Art and Design, which judged the entries. Paint was donated by Dunn-Edwards and Norris Hardware. ”The mural, painted in the west driveway of the school, off of Allenford, features a girl chasing a soccer girl into the street, with cars stopped at a crosswalk. The front of the mural features a teacher (who the students say was modeled after music teacher Lara Jacques) holding out her arms to stop the students from crossing. A fellow off to the side of the rectangle points into the mural. ”’Each of us drew a picture of what we wanted it to be, then we drew on the wall with pencil,’ said eighth grader Amanda Mohagen. ‘Then we filled it in.’ ”’I made new friends,’ said eighth grader Steven Garcia. ‘We got a chance to stay after school and it was nice working with the other people.’ Garcia enjoyed the painting part of the mural process, standing on scaffolding and ladders. ”The students worked after school every Wednesday and also put in some time on the weekends. The biennial contest, which started in 1998, switches between high schools and middle schools. ”Other schools’ murals focused on seatbelt usage, gridlock, parking safety and other issues, but pedestrian safety is the focus of the Revere mural. ”’It’s a good way to get the message out,’ says LAPD West Traffic Officer Bill Williamson. ‘The students take pride in creating something with a positive message for all students.’ ”’It’s also recognition for school art departments. It’s a big endeavor for art teachers and dedicated students.’ ”The new captain of the West Traffic Division, Captain Baca, was also on hand to give the students their awards. ”Principal Art Copper says that Revere is one of the few schools that still has art in the curriculum. There are five art classes on the schedule as well as an afterschool class. ”’They loved doing it,’ Dobkin says of her students. ‘They had a great time.’