Woodlynde School Participates In MLK Mural Project

By MEGHAN MCLAUGHLIN

STRAFFORD, PA – Woodlynde School, a K-12 college-prep school for students with learning differences, was among six area schools to create a mural that inspired and educated volunteers during the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at Girard College on January 18.

This year, the King Day of Service focuses on the actions and words of Rosa Parks and Dr. King concerning the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Woodlynde School students created a mural that symbolizes the strength of justice and love that powered the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Using bright colors and strong symmetry, students hope that their mural will have a lasting effect on the viewer just as Rosa Parks had a lasting effect on the Civil Rights Movement.

Participation in the MLK Mural Project has become a tradition for interested Woodlynde Middle and Upper School students each year. This year 17 students met after school beginning in November to create a concept and paint the mural.

“I am always impressed with the amount of maturity and dedication the students apply to this project,” says Kat Lee, art teacher and advisor of the MLK Mural Project at Woodlynde. “We have discussions and critiques with a real mural artist, and the painting itself has only two weeks to be completed.”

The mural was on display during the day of service as a visual reminder for what the day is about. The Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is the largest King Day of Service in the nation.

Located in Strafford, Woodlynde School is one of the region’s oldest college prep schools for students in grades K through 12 with language- or math-based learning differences, ADD/ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, or Executive Function Disorder. Woodlynde’s students gain access to caring experts in education, thrive in a nurturing environment, benefit from specialized teaching methods, rise to the challenge of a college prep curriculum, and emerge with the tools and self-confidence for success and happiness in college, career, and life.