TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A surprise greeted students at Tallahassee’s Hartsfield Elementary School Monday morning.
Hartsfield was one of several schools forced to remove its student-painted crosswalk last year at the direction of the Florida Department of Transportation.
Artwork removed from Hartsfield Elementary’s crosswalk last year is now featured on a wind screen that runs the length of the playground.(WCTV)
Now, that art is back. It’s featured on a colorful wind screen that runs the length of the playground fence right near Hartsfield’s front entrance.
“It makes me happy,” fourth grader Javionna Mitchell said.
Mitchell is one of the students who helped to design and paint the original crosswalk.
“I felt like such good memories came here and I was just so thankful that they put it up to, like, represent how we decorated,” she said of the new fence.
“It makes me happy,” one student said when she saw the fence for the first time.(WCTV)
“The students were extremely surprised,” Hartsfield Elementary School Principal John Olson said. “We didn’t tell them about the surprise so they came back to school today and some of the students remember painting the crosswalk. They were thrilled to see the same artwork on the school fence.”
Artwork removed from Hartsfield Elementary’s crosswalk last year is now featured on a wind screen that runs the length of the playground.(WCTV)
The Knight Creative Communities Institute – or KCCI – worked with the school to create the floral striped wind screen which also shields the playground from the view of passing cars.
“It’s more welcoming than the fence by itself,” principal John Olson said. “The colors are beautiful. It was well organized and the children know they’re coming to a happy and joyous place to learn.”
“The children know they’re coming to a happy and joyous place to learn,” the principal said of the new artwork.(WCTV)
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