Teen Mural Program
TMP is a summer employment program with local teens hired to research, design, and install a large public art mural in their community.
- Provides a legitimate employment experience and on-site workplace training
- Reinforces core curriculum subjects
- Exposes students to art techniques
The Teen Mural Program achieves positive developmental outcomes, reduces the risk of teens engaging in criminal and unhealthy behaviors, and combats the high teen dropout rate as TMP:
Each Teen Mural Program ("TMP") employs socio-economically disadvantaged teens to research, design and install a large public art mural. By exposing students to painting and learning through the arts, TMP achieves significant developmental youth outcomes, reduces risk, and combats the high teen dropout rate. Mural making develops multiple skill sets and raises achievement in reading, writing, applied mathematics, presenting, drawing, painting and video production. This "embedded curriculum" also builds social and cultural capital in both implicit and explicit ways (McLaughlin, 2000).
Neighborhoods plagued by drug use, violence and educational inequity provide severely limited enrichment activities and employment opportunities. Together, these circumstances create an extremely challenging environment for young people to develop positively and flourish. The Teen Mural Program combats the high teen drop-out rate and provides a challenging and supportive forum for teens to safely explore and address complex community issues. Through TMP, MMAP is also creating a public art legacy and preserving the unique cultural history and heritage of East Palo Alto. Most importantly, the community has begun to recognize young people as inspired, active civic participants, while the teens acquire the skill sets, interest and determination to become community leaders.
Number served and population demographics
Each Teen Mural Program targets 25 to 30 underserved, minority teens. According to the National Research Council's 2002 report, Community Programs to Promote Youth Development, successful youth development programs are needed because they offer safe yet challenging environments, build teens' skills, connect them with caring adults, and consequently facilitate a successful transition to adulthood.
Transition into adolescence dramatically increases the likelihood that a child will engage in criminal and antisocial behavior, or drug and alcohol use (Eccles et al., 1996; Steinberg and Morris, 2001), or will disengage with or fail in school (Eccles, et al. 1998). A rising number of adolescents in the U.S. enter the labor market with inadequate skills and face problems such as substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy, school failure and involvement with the juvenile justice system.
Professor of Linguistics and English at Stanford University, Shirley Brice Heath, has published articles such as ArtShow: Youth and Community Development (1999) and Monograph of Americans for the Arts (1998), which claim that community organizations which are centered in the visual arts are especially effective in engaging young people with high risk factors such as drugs, violence and unstable economic support. Youth development programs decrease problematic behaviors and can remediate deficiencies in skills important to the successful transition to adulthood (Blum, et al., 2000; Eccles and Barber, 1999; Larsen, 2000), by providing positive opportunities and experiences, (Carnegie Corporation of New York).
Testimonials
Jeffrey Camarillo
Teen Mural Program Director
"The Mural, Music and Arts Project provides the ideal balance of arts and education for urban youth. MMAP's emphasis on a culturally rich education for youth is what motivated me to involve myself with MMAP. Additionally, the level of staff involvement at MMAP is unparalleled! The staff genuinely enjoy working with one other and are all committed to the shared vision for enhancement of youth.
The Mural, Music and Arts Project provides youth with academic confidence and a sense of pride that many of our youth do not develop during the academic school year. Their experiences with MMAP, particularly in the summer months, provide them with an intellectual rejuvenation that they carry into the academic year. In addition, MMAP provides teens with positive adult mentorship and role models, particularly male role models, in a community that is sometimes lacking in this regard. MMAP's role models truly connect with the teens. Our culture, style, and value system are what immediately appeal to the teens, and many continue relationships even after employment with MMAP.
On several occasions during this summer's TMP session, I recall looking out into the crowd of young faces and seeing a look of true empowerment, a look of inspiration, a look of achievement...a look that essentially represents the words 'I CAN BE WHATEVER I WANT TO BE IN LIFE!' This is the reason that I have and will continue to involve myself with MMAP.
On a personal note, the Mural, Music and Arts Project has made me a far more effective educator. MMAP was the first organization that allowed me to become a teacher, coach, and mentor to other younger, less experienced teachers. Essentially, I served a role comparable to that of a school principal or vice principal. I led professional development sessions, handled discipline issues with the teens, designed and implemented curriculum and helped younger educators develop strategies to enhance their practice. All this has made me a better teacher than I was before MMAP and has helped me prepare me for my future as a public school administrator."
