Van Nuys : Volunteers Spruce Up Erwin Elementary

Three new murals and about 50 flowering plants greeted students at the Erwin Street Elementary School on Monday--the result of a volunteer-driven weekend cleanup of the school’s exterior.

From raking to sweeping, planting to painting, about 60 volunteers from the community, Universal Studios and the school spruced up the campus to boost morale among the 1,000 students accustomed to seeing graffiti and patchy grass at school.

Holding a rake Saturday morning, Principal Marla Mondheim pointed out newly planted chrysanthemums, pansies, snapdragons and rose vines.

Meantime, teachers Amy D’Elia and Elaine Beams carefully lettered a turquoise and red sign that reads “Welcome to Erwin Street School.”

“We’re just really trying to improve our school--make it a nicer place to be,” D’Elia said. Beams added, “Having a nice place really makes the difference for the kids.”

Resting at a lunch table in front of another new mural--this one with cartoon-like fruit and vegetables--9-year-old Claudia Lester echoed that sentiment.

“I was sweeping the yard today because I want my school to be clean,” the fourth-grader said. “I feel proud of my school.”

Claudia was also ogling the most spectacular of the new murals--the one painted by volunteers from Universal Studios, which adopted the school.

On an exterior wall previously scarred by graffiti, the volunteers painted a glowing Earth surrounded by musical symbols and a caption reading, “Music is universal.”

The next task, explained Franklin Quintana, an usher at the Universal Amphitheatre, is to paint likenesses of children from around the world to represent the school’s multiculturalism.

“I think education is extremely important,” volunteer Sylvia Diaz said. “What better place to learn but in a beautifully decorated school?”

The four-hour cleanup was so successful that Principal Mondheim vowed to have another such effort this spring.