When area schools are not in session, Officer James Priddy with the Santa Rosa County Correctional Institution along with several inmates are sharing their artistic talents with those schools, located throughout the county. Since 2011, Priddy and the inmates involved with the institute's painting program have provided painted artwork on the walls of multiple schools in Santa Rosa County.
CLICK HERE: To view photos of the correctional Institution's artwork and some of the thank you letter from the students at S.S. Dixon Primary School in Pace
“It started at S.S. Dixon Primary with us stacking their hay for the Haystackular, then they asked us if we could paint their tunnel,” Priddy said.
After Priddy and a small group of inmates painted cartoon characters in the school's underground tunnel which connects the main school building to their recreational field across U.S. Highway 90 – the program's popularity quickly grew, especially at S.S. Dixon Primary.
“We then went to their media center and put a story book mural on their wall and it went on from there,” Priddy said.
Artwork created by Priddy and the inmates can also be found in the school's student clinic, cafeteria and recently opened Collaborative, Innovate and Assimilate Lab.
S.S. Dixon Primary School administrative officials, Principal Nancy Haupt and Assistant Principal Dan Balsavich, are proud and thankful for what the painting program has accomplished at their school.
“Officer Priddy and his crew have just been phenomenal,” Haupt said. “They are very nice people to work with and very talented.”
Priddy and the select group of inmates have provided unique artwork at 14 Santa Rosa County Schools, thus far. The group only performs these services when the schools are out of session with no children on school grounds, including summer break and student holidays. This program also allows the correctional institute to assist area schools with outside ground maintenance, adding another coat of paint to interior facilities and repairing play ground equipment.
“It's nice, because I don't know how else we would get this done,” Haupt said.
With each school, Priddy aims to find artwork unique to particular school or area at the school.
For example, the inmates painted ponies in the S.S. Dixon Primary School cafeteria in reference to the school's mascot.
“Each school is different,” Priddy said. “Sometimes they have their own clip art they want to see on the wall and we just take it.”
Priddy will also offer his own ideas to the school staff, even offering a rough sketch to each school.
“James comes up with his own ideas and he strategically places them there for the kids,” Balsavich said.
As an example, Balsavich said Priddy placed kid friendly paintings in the school's clinic, a place students typically don't like to be.
“A kid will feel more comfortable when they come in there,” Balsavich said. “When they see these paintings on the walls or when they go to the clinic, they feel at home.”
Balsavich the paintings offer a more comfortable environment for children and their parents than a bare wall with a bland coat of paint.
“What a difference that makes when a kid comes to school and sees a kid friendly environment,” Balsavich said. “Where they know they are going to be safe.”
On average, Priddy will take a group of four to five non-violent inmates to each school project. These inmates, who typically have some form of artistic background, are about to be released from the correctional facility.
Each inmate participating in the program is approved by the correctional facility's institutional classification team, Priddy said. The ICT team reviews each inmate's institutional record and criminal history before being approving them to go outside the correctional facility.
In some cases, this program has also led to a new creative outlet for the participating inmates, Priddy said.
“Some can draw but they have never painted and they will find a new talent,” he said.
School's have also shown their appreciation for Priddy and inmate's work by presenting the department with multiple plauqes and certificates of recognition for their work. The students have also written letters to Officer Priddy also expressing their gratitude. Priddy has even returned the gesture to the students.
“At S.S. Dixon, a second grade class sent me a bunch of letters, and I returned the favor by drawing the picture they liked on their card and gave them candy canes in person,” Priddy said.
In addition to taking part in the program, Priddy said the inmates also appreciate knowing the impact of their work.
“They also like to hear the reports the comeback (where) the kids are smiling when they come in (school),” Priddy said. “This gives (the inmates) a chance to give back to the community. They like hearing the feedback, it kind of boosts their ego. At least someone cares about what they do.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Local inmates bring artistic talents to area schools