Hundreds of students, families, staff, and community members celebrated La Escuela Fratney’s colorful new mural last month. Artist Tia Richardson named the mural “Creciendo Unidos” — growing together — which also is the motto of Fratney.

The mural was made possible by the family of Sylvia Levine, a former teacher, Riverwest resident, and art lover. Seeking a way to honor her memory, her family approached La Escuela Fratney Principal Sara Cruz. Cruz suggested their generous donation be used to paint a mural on the school’s large south wall.

“We are extremely grateful for their gift, and we also want to thank the Bader (Philanthropies) Foundation for donating funds for installation of the mural,” Cruz said.

“It is now, with this mural, that what we value, honor, and teach inside the school building is on display outside the school building for our entire Riverwest and Milwaukee community to enjoy,” she added.

Some of the values of Fratney, which is the only dual language English-Spanish school on Milwaukee’s north side, can be seen in the mural, the principal said. For instance, respect is portrayed by an image of a teacher welcoming a child to a classroom. It’s also seen in the symbol for Fratney School, which was suggested by a parent: a huge heart.

“Tia and her team of artists were able to put the students at the center of this big heart, and that is where we believe students should be, at the center of our hearts and the center of all that we do at our school,” Cruz said.

Seeing the mural, seeing themselves

The diversity of students in the mural will let the school’s students see themselves in it. In the past school year, Cruz noted, the staff welcomed families from Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Venezuela, Mexico, and other countries to La Escuela Fratney.

“We hope that, through this mural, all those who have left their country of origin, coming to Milwaukee for safety, education, and job opportunities, will know that we welcome them and embrace the unique stories they bring with them,” Cruz said.

Other school values can be seen in the mural: Students marching for children’s rights, which represents a focus on equity and social justice, and students reading together in English and Spanish, representing “how much we value and honor students’ home languages and multilingualism,” Cruz explained.

The mural is 40 feet by 16 feet, painted in acrylic on aluminum panels. Besides the artist and her team of assistants, the mural’s creation involved more than 300 La Escuela Fratney students, families, staff, and community members, beginning with visioning sessions in the fall of 2023.

“Our students were involved in every step of the design and painting process,” Cruz said. Richardson and her team completed the painting’s finishing touches.

Miguel Sanchez, MPS East Regional Superintendent, observed, “When we work together, great things happen. This mural is a beautiful example of that.”

The artist said the mural reflects her own values as well as the school’s. “It’s about unity and diversity, working across cultures for the common good,” Richardson said.

“When I look at this mural, I’m inspired by the richness of the different stories in the images,” the artist said.

That includes “stories of immigration and finding a new place to put down roots,” Richardson said, adding, “Fratney is a place where everyone can belong and feel safe and cared for.”

Richardson’s work can be seen across Milwaukee. The numerous locations include Al Jarreau Park, N. 30th and W. Locust streets; the I-794 piers downtown; Black Cat Alley, off E. Ivanhoe Place; the Milwaukee County Courthouse’s lower level; and the Donald J. O’Connell Memorial Auditorium in MPS Central Services.