The office staff at Fouse Elementary saw the blank wall in the main office as a canvas for an art piece to greet those entering the school.
They reached out to Sarah Prohl, a school aide who has been designing and painting murals for years.
On Tuesday, Prohl etched her concept on the wall and as staff and teachers walked into the main office, they picked up a paintbrush and helped bring the mural to life.
“Working here at Fouse and seeing the student population we have and knowing how welcoming our office staff is, I wanted the mural to capture how welcoming they are,” Prohl said. “I wanted to represent the kids and families here at Fouse and greet everyone in a way that shows they are loved and valued.”
The mural features the words, “Welcome to Fouse Elementary,” surrounded by hands of different skin tones and greetings in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Haitian Creole and Nepali.
The inspiration for the mural stemmed from one of Prohl’s earlier observations when she joined Fouse’s staff four years ago. She was at recess and marveled at all the students of different races and ethnicities playing together.
“I just realized what a unique position Fouse and all of Westerville is in,” she said. “We have so many students from different cultures and they were all having fun.”
She said what made the mural special was how staff members who walked into the office contributed to painting the piece and helped finish it in a day.
School clerk Crystal Parrish said the office staff thought the mural
was perfect as it aligns with the work the school’s equity team has been doing and the inclusive feeling experienced at Fouse every day.