Grace High senior creates morale-boosting mural

Grace High School senior Amelia Ketzer-Dean was tasked with boosting school pride and building community on the campus of the small, alternative high school in Santa Rosa — all via the creation of a mural.

Grace Principal Tony Negri said the senior, who will graduate Friday, nailed it.

"We are trying to make our school as attractive as, say, the comprehensive high schools, and when we saw this girl had this kind of talent, we asked 'Would you be willing to do something for us?'

" he said. "She gave us the pencil drawing and we loved it and said, 'Go forward.'

" "She's our superstar," he said.The piece, which is 8-feet-by-16-feet, depicts the school's mascot, a fox, in the school's color, which is green."I just really wanted to see colors, to bring the community a brighter Grace," Ketzer-Dean said.It will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Wednesday with school and district officials present, Negri said.Grace, which currently has about 65 students, is located in a separate area of the Piner High School campus on Fulton Road. It serves students who have not thrived in a traditional, comprehensive high school setting.The school appealed to Ketzer-Dean when she transferred as a sophomore after losing significant credits while living abroad."It's really small and community-" oriented, she said.Ketzer-Dean will be working this summer with ArtStart, a nonprofit group that hires apprentice artists and contracts with Santa Rosa to create, install and repair art throughout town.Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671, kerry.benefield@press democrat.com or on Twitter @benefield.

"She's our superstar," he said.

The piece, which is 8-feet-by-16-feet, depicts the school's mascot, a fox, in the school's color, which is green.

"I just really wanted to see colors, to bring the community a brighter Grace," Ketzer-Dean said.

It will be unveiled at 10 a.m. Wednesday with school and district officials present, Negri said.

Grace, which currently has about 65 students, is located in a separate area of the Piner High School campus on Fulton Road. It serves students who have not thrived in a traditional, comprehensive high school setting.

The school appealed to Ketzer-Dean when she transferred as a sophomore after losing significant credits while living abroad.

"It's really small and community-" oriented, she said.

Ketzer-Dean will be working this summer with ArtStart, a nonprofit group that hires apprentice artists and contracts with Santa Rosa to create, install and repair art throughout town.

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671, kerry.benefield@press democrat.com or on Twitter @benefield.