BALTIMORE — Roland Park Elementary Middle School has been around for almost a century.
Throughout the decades the building has had different renovations, big and small, but the most recent is one people who have attended Roland Park in the past notice the most, the cafeteria.
In the past, the walls were filled with large murals all over; now all of the old artwork is gone.
"It wasn't cohesive, and everything and also the murals had been up for decades; a lot of my friends went here, and that was about 20 years ago," says Jamal Ruffin, community school site specialist.
Dr. Dina Sanchez, an orthodontist in Roland Park, led the project.
She had children who attended Roland Park years ago and felt she needed to give back to the school.
So, with the help of her husband's contracting business, she helped renovate the cafeteria, making the space more inviting to all the students from kindergarten to eighth grade.
"Inclusion is more than just creating a space for everybody; it's about creating the feeling and the sense of being included and valued and heard and seen," says Dr. Sanchez.
The colors, design, and even the choice of words painted on the wall also serve another purpose.
Dr. Sanchez wanted all students to feel welcomed into the cafeteria, even students who have sensory issues.
"And a child that has sensory issues cannot thrive and be in the same space, so it separates them," says Dr. Sanchez.
She says the softer colors and simple design are less of a distraction for those students so they can enjoy lunch as well.
Jamal Ruffin says the students have enjoyed seeing the renovations; he says many of them are glad the old, unfinished art is gone and the space looks like a traditional school cafeteria.
"To have the old image of the cafeteria from like unfinished murals to the new look and everything of just a finished complete look is kind of what we wanted, and things like that just a newer, fresher look and things like that for the kids," says Ruffin.
Roland Park Elementary Middle will turn 100 in 2025, and officials say there will be more renovations throughout the year to breathe new life into the halls.
