CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF PEACE: Decatur High Mural

In December 2025, 75 students from a diverse array of Decatur High School clubs transformed 500 square feet of hallway space Into a vibrant mural focusing on the theme “Cultivating a Culture of Peace”.

Funded by the Decatur Education Foundation through Zara’s Fund, this program honors the creative spirit of Zara Yee Hawthorne, a kindergartener who passed away in 2013, and who would have been a Decatur High School graduating senior In spring 2025.

Whether the students were conceptualizing, sketching, or painting, the voices of these students remained the focal point of this honoring and Impactful mural program, allowing the students personality and creativity to shine bright throughout the project. Students participating in the Best Buddies Club, where friendship and leadership Is fostered between Neurotypical and Neurodivergent peers, acted as art directors designing the mural. Paint Love staff facilitated two design sessions and the students designs were finalized by Paint Love's Mural Coordinator, Leah Kellaway, before painting the mural with DHS clubs.