Students view murals at old Arlington High School

Many Haller Middle School seventh graders visited the former Arlington High School on May 16 as part of their history curriculum. The old high school features two murals by Washington-based artist Richard Correll that were painted in the late 1930s. The murals were commissioned by President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration

“Our seventh-grade classes are currently learning about President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration, so this seemed like a perfect fit since the old high school is right next to Haller Middle School,” said Haller teacher, Kari Macneill.

Haller Middle School teacher, Melissa Molthan, organized the field trip to the old high school.

“I found a website of Richard Correll’s work during spring break and started investigating. When emailing someone about getting a certain photo, the daughter of the artist responded. She shared information and even sent a book of her father's art.”

One mural features Paul Bunyan and the other shows a dairy scene with cows. The students analyzed each mural and made notes of their observations.

“It’s pretty cool that two of the three murals that Mr. Correll painted are right here in the old high school,” said Haller student, Cassidy Fairbank.

“It’s amazing how big the murals are,” said Haller student, Max Caldwell. “You can see so much of the detail.”