Miraloma Elementary’s Wall of Inclusion

We are so impressed with the Wall of Inclusion Miraloma Elementary in San Francisco created! Enjoy their Press Release below.

December 6, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Visiting author Todd Parr and spontaneous art installations around the country inspire art project at this San Francisco elementary school.

To mark Inclusive Schools Week this year, Miraloma Elementary School took inspiration from the “Walls of Empathy” that have recently appeared in San Francisco, New York, and other cities. Students used over two thousand sticky notes to cover the hallways of their school in messages of hope, love, and peace.

As part of the project, Miraloma Elementary welcomed best-selling children’s book author and illustrator Todd Parr, whose work has been honored by the National Parenting Publications Awards, the Family Equality Council, and the Parents’ Choice Awards. Parr’s books—including It’s Okay to Be Different, The Feelings Book, Be Who You Are, The Peace Book and The Love Book—encourage children to celebrate diversity and express their feelings. The students were encouraged to include images on their notes in the style of Parr’s artwork. Kindergarten through fifth grade classes participated, with some classes creating self-portraits for the wall while others answered questions inspired by Parr’s book, such as “What does peace mean to you?”

Inclusive Schools Week is an annual, nationwide event which exists to encourage and celebrate “the progress that schools have made in providing a supportive and quality education to an increasingly diverse student population, including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors.” The event is also intended to spark conversations within a school community—including students, faculty, staff, and parents—about inclusion and diversity.