> At a Glance
> – Students at Cigarroa Elementary are painting a mural called Cowboy Commitments
> – The project partners with United to Learn, a nonprofit active on 100+ Dallas ISD campuses
> – Volunteers from private schools like Alcuin School joined the effort
> – Why it matters: Kids say the wall will remind them-and future classes-that they helped shape their school’s culture
Third-graders stepped up first, clutching fat brushes and cups of bright paint. By the time sixth-graders added the last strokes, a hallway at Cigarroa Elementary had become a living pledge of kindness, care, and community.
A Wall That Teaches Values
Principal Douglas Burak handed each child a brush and a challenge:
> “What better way to get them invested in the work than to actually have them do the work themselves, right?”
The Cowboy Commitments mural translates the school’s core values into color. Every student left a literal mark so no one can walk by without remembering who helped build the message.
**Emily Wilson of United to Learn says the painting is only the start:
> “It’s about every student having a part in the painting, and then understanding the value systems of the school.”
Third-grader Ander boiled those values down to a single sentence while he worked:
> “Like, taking care of people, like kindness.”
Volunteers From Across Dallas
United to Learn routinely rallies support from private campuses. For this project, ninth-grader Mikhayil Tabani traveled from Alcuin School:
> “I’m just learning, like, to appreciate things. Just seeing the kids smile for sure, it warms my heart.”
The collaboration keeps costs low and multiplies mentors. Dozens of students-public and private-shared brushes, paint, and stories during the two-day effort.
Why a Mural?
- Permanence: Paint on cinderblock outlaws fading enthusiasm
- Ownership: Kids point to their square for years
- Tradition: Future classes inherit the same bright reminders
Sixth-grader Danna already pictures the future:
> “It is cool ’cause maybe one day we’ll come back and look at this and know what spot we painted.”
Classmate Omar says the feeling sticks even after the brushes are cleaned:
> “Every time I walk past it, I know I did something for the school.”
Key Takeaways
- Every Cigarroa student, grades K-6, added personal brushstrokes
- United to Learn coordinates similar projects at 100+ Dallas ISD campuses
- The finished mural cements values like kindness, respect, and responsibility in daily sight
- Volunteers from Alcuin School provided extra hands-and learned something too
Walk Cigarroa’s main hallway today and you’ll find more than paint. You’ll find a promise kids made, stroke by stroke, to live the Cowboy Commitments long after the last color dries.
