HORACE MANN ELEMENTARY

BAY AREA CHAPTER — Oakland, CA

Big Picture

Horace Mann Elementary is a Title 1 school serving nearly 200 students from PreK through 5th Grade in East Oakland, CA. As a school committed to a trauma-informed, healing-centered environment, the campus strives to be a sanctuary of safety, emotional support, and community pride for its young learners. Project Color Corps’ goal was to bring "optical optimism" to the forefront of the student experience by transforming the school's expansive play yard into a vibrant, uplifting canvas that reflects the joy, resilience, and belonging every child deserves.

We are deeply grateful to Principal Tammy Adams for having the vision that brought us in to help revitalize their school yard.

A Conversation About Color

Project Color Corps conducted our foundational color seminars with the students. In these sessions, students explored how color carries emotional weight and possesses the power to shift how we feel about ourselves and our spaces.

Through interactive workshops and surveys, the children shared how they want their school yard—the heart of their daily social interaction—to feel. They voiced their color preferences, communicated their desires for how they want to feel at school, and actively shaped the visual trajectory of their own campus.

The community's input was compiled, and two color palettes were developed: BRIGHT WELCOME and MAGIC TRIBE.

The Transformation

Renowned designer Michael Mabry stepped in to translate the students' feedback, stories, and favorite colors into a cohesive, powerful visual narrative. The final design was engineered specifically to inject beauty and energy directly into the play yard environment, while keeping in mind Principal Ada’s request to have their beloved jaguar mascot be represented.

Just before the end of the school year, we hosted a transformative community Paint Day, bringing together students, staff, neighbors, and volunteers to roll up their sleeves and bring Mabry’s design to life on the yard. After a few hours, the entire 350-foot wall was completely transformed!