OKC School Gets A New Look

With the clock ticking down to the first day of school, FD Moon Academy Elementary on Oklahoma City's northeast side, is getting a face lift. Thanks to local artists donating their time and talents who volunteered to give the school a makeover.

“You get a kid a beautiful school to come to? Yeah they're going to be proud of where they go, I think, yeah, there’s a lot of self-worth into what we're doing right now,” Local artist Jason Pawley said as he held on to the cans of spray paint he was using to create a mural on the old set of lockers.

Nearly a dozen artists have spent the week painting over old murals in the cafeteria and the hallways that had been done by other students that Pawley said was cringe-worthy at best.

“When we came in and saw what was going in here and what these kids were having to look at every day, it kind of was hard to look at.

Some of the murals are based on drawings done by students according to artist Cassie Stover who was hand painting a sports themed mural inside the cafeteria. Some other murals still use the same ideas from the old ones.

“Nobody cares to keep the lockers up,” Pawley said. “To [students] they’re like ‘well if nobody cares then why should I care?’”

The artist are all volunteers, only being paid with daily lunch and free supplies to brighten up the school and maybe a few futures in the process.

“When students feel like they're nurtured and cared for, then ultimately, it'll impact academic success so that's basically the goal of it,” FD Moon Assistant Principal Shlonda Brewer said.

“If you can appreciate art you can appreciate scenery, you can appreciate love, you can appreciate the ideas that come into your mind about a video game you want to play, anything!” Pawley said with a smile.

Artists were hoping to have the murals finished by next Tuesday in time for an unveiling on the first day of school.