Frank McCourt HS: We are One

The “WE ARE ONE” mural was created by the students at Frank McCourt High School. During workshops, we explored community and collaboration, covering topics such as cultural roots, kindness, the use of color, and composition.

This is how we arrived at this mural design, featuring the title “WE ARE ONE” in the central area. This beautiful phrase encapsulates all the concepts discussed previously, and is the one that one of the talented students shared in his sketch. Two students also agreed on using planet Earth in their mural, with hands symbolizing our need to care for it and olive branches representing the much-needed peace.

Another suggestion that was repeated in our sessions was to include elements from the area where the High School is, the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Therefore, we can find in the mural silhouettes of the city visible from the park, one of its bridges, a water tower like the many in the area, and most importantly, the iconic cherry blossoms on each side.

We also included two symbols that recurred in our students’ imaginations. The monarch butterfly as a symbol of immigration, and silhouettes of people of different ages and backgrounds walking together.

Finally, the name of the school, a special request from the principal.