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A low-income school on a Navajo Reservation in New Mexico will get a colorful facelift inside and out as the winner of Glidden Paints’ Colorful Classrooms Contest.
Jefferson Elementary, in Gallup, NM, will receive 200 gallons of paint, painting labor, and a “community celebration” to honor the event, Glidden announced Monday (Oct. 29) on its Facebook page.
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Photos: Glidden Paint |
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Glidden will provide materials and labor to repaint the exterior, 20 classrooms, gym and library at Jefferson Elementary School in Gallup, NM.
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The project, to be completed by the end of the year, will repaint the 56-year-old building’s exterior, gym, library and 20 classrooms. The school topped four other finalists in voting by 61,688 supporters, Glidden said.
The paint company, a division of AkzoNobel, also unveiled a surprise consolation prize: All four runners-up will still receive 200 gallons of paint for their projects, Glidden said.
The Winner
The winning school serves a high-need population, with more than 90 percent of the students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Glidden said. Nearly six in 10 students are Native American, 32 percent are Hispanic, and the rest are other ethnicities.
Jefferson is part of a sprawling 35-school district that spreads over 4,000 square miles, stretching its maintenance resources extremely thin, Glidden said.
The district has had no money to paint the 1950s-era school. As a result, “the exterior of the building is cracked and peeling, the classrooms are a hodgepodge of colors, and playground spaces need fresh coats,” the school told Glidden.
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"Going to school in a beautiful building helps students know that they are cared about and are part of something special.” the school told Glidden.
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"A colorful facelift would bring a ray of hope to the families, staff and community in Gallup,” the school said. “In the same way that putting on fancy clothes makes a person stand a little straighter and act with confidence, going to school in a beautiful building helps students know that they are cared about and are part of something special.”
Hundreds of Entries
More than 320 schools from 43 states originally entered the contest. Judging of the entries was based on need, potential impact, student body, scope of the project, community engagement and involvement, and quality and creativity of entry.
Most of the finalist schools were more than 50 years old, Glidden said.
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