Principal Newsletter: Sharing Your School Mural Project With Families

A mural project is one of the best stories a principal can tell in a newsletter. It involves students, reflects values, changes the physical environment, and gives the community something to see and point to. The newsletter should match the significance of the project.

Start With the Idea Behind the Mural

Before you describe the design, describe the question the mural is answering. Why does your school want public art here? What do you want students to see every morning when they walk in? Is the mural about community history, school values, local culture, or something students told you matters to them? The idea behind the mural is what earns buy-in from families who might otherwise see it as a decoration project.

Describe How Students Were Involved

This is the section families will read twice. How did students participate in the concept, the design, or the research? Did art classes develop proposals? Did student government vote on a theme? Did a teacher integrate social studies content into the imagery? The more specific you are about student ownership, the stronger the story.

Families who hear that their child's drawing is part of the final design will share this newsletter with three people.

Explain the Selection Process

If there was a formal design selection process, describe it briefly. Who submitted ideas, how the finalists were chosen, who sat on the selection panel, and what criteria guided the decision. Transparency about process matters for public art in a way it does not for a bulletin board. The mural will be visible to the whole community, and community members respond better to something they understand was deliberated than something that appeared without context.

Introduce the Artist if Applicable

If a professional or community muralist is leading the project, introduce them in the newsletter. A sentence about their background, their connection to the community, and their experience with school projects builds credibility and interest. Families who know who is painting on their school wall are more curious about the work and more likely to visit in progress.

Tell Families Where to See It and When

Give the location of the mural and the timeline. When did painting begin, when is the expected completion, and will there be a reveal or community celebration? If families can walk by and watch the work in progress, tell them that. Some of the most memorable community moments come from watching students and artists work together on something permanent.

Invite the Next Layer of Participation

Even if the design is finalized, there may be ways for additional families to participate. A community painting session, a neighborhood viewing event, a student docent program that teaches others about the mural's meaning. Not every project will have these, but offering any way for more people to connect to the work deepens the sense of community ownership.

Daystage makes it easy to include a photo of the in-progress mural with each newsletter update so families can watch it come together in real time.

Note How to Share Feedback

Public art invites reaction. Give families a brief note on how to share thoughts, questions, or concerns. Even just your email address. When families know there is a channel for their response, they are less likely to let a vague concern grow into something bigger.