RL Turner High School: Courageous Community

“Courageous Community” is Thrive Collective’s third mural collaboration in Dallas with Make it Count, Young Life, and Inspire School Programs, at RL Turner High School in Carrollton, for School Partners USA. The mini-documentary video was produced by students from Turner’s Academy of Media Arts and Technology.

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District featured the mural on June 1, highlighting that the mural “will make impact for years to come.” The reporting continued:

“The mural is a beautiful display of our community,” said Carolyn Benavides, CFBISD school board member. “The mural detail and vibrant rich colors bring life to the R. L. Turner building.”

R. L. Turner Associate Principal, Katie Palmer, played a pivotal role in the completion of the project.

“First, we had to seek approval to put the mural on an exterior wall, as that had never been done before in our district,” said Palmer. “We gave a presentation to the chiefs and board for approval on the motivation behind the project, the groups funding it and a plan for potential deterioration or destruction.”

Funding was crucial to the project’s success.

“This mural was originally funded by a grant from Thrive Collective,” said Palmer. “Thrive originated in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1996 as a youth center. For 15 years, the majority of their students came from the public school across the street. In 2006, Thrive began strategically bringing their services into the school building, and completed their first mural project at the school in 2007. By 2011 they incorporated Thrive Collective and transitioned to a school-based program model. Their success in melding youth leadership development, mentoring, arts and culture broadened their reach to include schools and neighborhoods across the city.”

As the project grew, Make It Count approached Palmer about helping fund the project.

“Make It Count is a CFB program, formerly known as Bea’s Kids, designed to provide educational and personal development programs to children from low-income families so they will stay in school and break the cycle of poverty,” said Palmer. “This charitable organization has been making an impact in our community for more than 30 years.”