Pinole Valley High School students bring beauty to their campus
PINOLE, Calif. (KTVU) - Students at Pinole Valley High are learning life lessons by overcoming obstacles at school. Principal Kibby Kleiman reached out to KTVU to let us us know how proud he is of his students.
The main school building is being rebuilt and the construction is ongoing. Classes and everything are done inside portable units. But the students have created murals to bring beauty to their campus.
They say they've learned through art that a school is not a building and it's up to them to build a community.
For the past five years, Pinole Valley High consists of brown bungalows while the school is under construction.
It's earned the nickname "Portable Valley High."
There's no cafeteria, no library and no gym.
"I didn't really think it was a school because it was portables. I didn't really like it," said Crystal Weyono, a student who recently graduated from the school.
But Weyono and other students have been using a paintbrush to make the most of their school environment. They've created dozens of murals.
"Whether you're in portables or not, it's all about pride," said Alejandra Simen, a student artist. Each stroke is a symbol of their pride.
"When I walk past my murals, I feel proud of them, proud of myself-- self confidence, I guess. I know I contributed to a project, making the school better," said Rodrigo Campos, a student artist.
Students have created 40 murals. They are displayed on the portables. The work is done during lunch and after school, on their own time.
Principal Kleiman describes the drawings as modern masterpieces for a living gallery of art.
The materials are all donated.
He says when the project started, he had no idea the difference the murals would make.
"The message I want to deliver beyond Pinole Valley High School is given challenging circumstances, beautiful things can happen," said Kleiman.
One student says her work on the murals gave her the courage to pursue her dream of being an artist. It helped earned her a full scholarship to Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
"I didn't really think I was going to do art in the future. I thought it was going to be a hobby. It was my passion," said Crystal Weyono who recently graduated from the school.
The students say their choice of subjects and colors are a reflection of who they are.
"It's just really colorful and we're really colorful people," said student Maliyah Hart with a laugh.
Colorful and creative. The principal says the portables will be here for one more school year.
They will be gone when the newly re-built school opens in August 2019.
The murals will be displayed in the new school. Students say the drawings have taught them many lessons.
The portables are now a badge of honor that distinguishes their school from others.