At the unveiling of the newest part of the mural at the Intermediate School 259 William McKinley, Ledia Duro, an eighth grader, spoke of the artwork's themes of Greek mythology, its connection to contemporary art, to art deco in New York City's architecture, and movies that draw on the experiences and culture of the 1930s.

It was clear that Duro, 13, knows more about art than the average educated adult.

"Three years ago I did not care much about social studies or literature," Duro said. "In time, I developed an interest and gained confidence in myself and school."

Duro said the change is all due to her involvement in the mural.

The creation of the mural, a 2,500 square foot painting that now covers the walls of the school's third floor hallway, has involved approximetly 400 of the school's 1,400 students. Teachers and school officials use it as a motivational and teaching tool to help students fully understand the material studied, enjoy learning, and appreciate the knowledge learned class. This causes students to feel accomplished and integrated in the school community.

Chancellor Joel Klein, who attended the mural's unveiling at the school in Dyker Heights, was impressed and praised the schools' administrators for this innovative idea.

"Education is in the DNA of this school," Klein said. "I wish other schools went out of their way to inspire and challenge their students."

The school's administration desperate for an idea of the mural to motivate their students, after having tried many other options came up with the idea of the mural. Few other school programs created to motivate their students include rewarding them with cell phone minutes, movie tickets, pizza parties and even money.

Some critics have argued that such incentive programs do not bring lasting results.

Polish parents have typically been the most outspoken critics of these motivational tactics, strongly adhering to the idea that learning is an reward in itself, and since studying is a child's only responsibility, they should not be rewarded with anything more than good grades for doing a good job.

Parents of IS 259 students involved with the creation of the mural praise the positive influence the project has had on their children.

"Thanks to the engagement in the mural my son reads a lot more and has improved his analytical thinking skills. It is easier for him to understand more complicated books like Eragon," says Karolina Szymborska, mother of Remi Szyborski, 12, a painter in the mural project who often stayed after school to work on his painting. Remi has always been a good student, but since he became involved with the mural his grades have gone up to the 90s. "Working on a team with students from other cultures has also broadened his horizons", Szymborska says.

Students at William McKinley are not paid or rewarded in any material way to come to work on the mural. They do not even get credit for it; nonetheless, they still participate in the project willingly. Some come to school at 7 a.m. to work on the mural before classes begin at 8:35 a.m. Others work on it during lunch, after school or come in on Saturdays.

"Working on a mural is a great experience; we are all proud of it. It shows what we have learned in class," said Aleksandra Kunat, a seventh grader.

Kunat, 12, emigrated from Poland four years ago and has progressed well enough to write on the mural. She composed two poems, Snow White and Prometheus, and one essay comparing My Fair Lady and The Devil Wears Prada that were used on the murals.

The mural engages students with different talents – from those able to paint, draw and write, to students gifted with construction skills. Some students contributed by performing odd jobs like drilling or cleaning up.

"I saw people painting the mural and I said, 'Wow, this is beautiful and I want to get into this,'" said Amal Husein, 13, who has worked on the project for two years as a painter and writer.

In English class, students discussed a poem about Greek mythology and then wrote about it. They would submit the piece to the teacher for revision, and then rewrite it if necessary. In art class, the students studied various works of art and painting techniques that were used on the mural.

"We want them to have an understanding of many things on many levels," said Thomas Buxton, an English teacher who has overseen the work on the mural along with art teacher Roma Karas. "It seems to work well -- the kids know more about our history, more about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel than adults. We are way ahead of the game."

The project, Buxton said, is the response to Principal Janice Geary's request that the teachers come up with a curriculum that fused literature and art. The school ended up with a curriculum that not only covers the city and state requirements but creates enthusiasm and interest in education. As a result, IS 259's teachers alter the curriculum according to the mural's annual theme.

The following academic year in 2006/07, the theme was "Rhapsody in Blue" depicting elements of 1920s America. For the past two years the mural has been focused on Greek mythology, Greek architecture and their connection to contemporary movies.

"It is constantly reinventing-yourself process, which involves finding new books for the kids to read that are appropriate for the grade level, finding new art material that is appropriate for them and that they can handle," Buxton says.

Most importantly, school officials say that they are seeing evidence that having the mural on the curriculum is boosting efficiency of the educational system since the reading scores of students working on the mural have been increasing. While, the school-wide reading scores rose by 15 percent, scores for the students who were involved with the mural increased by 22 percent.

Progress is visible. For the 2007-2008 academic year, the school report card rose by 15 percent.

"That is what we are looking for," Buxton said. "We want to see their writing improve and their reading skills go up, and also allow the kids to have a good time while learning."

While the data demonstrates a minute change, the children say they feel as though they have grown a lot.

"My grades went up last year from a low to high three. And I am hoping to get a four this year," said Abdul Alsulaimani, an eighth grader.

An aspiring doctor, Alsulaimani said working on a team helped him open up to people: "With that skill, I will now make a better doctor," he said.

Other students praise the mural, saying it keeps them "on their feet," occupied and away from trouble. "This has had great impact on our lives, and speaking personally, this mural changed me because I wasn't the greatest kid. After I started working on it, I just locked away all the bad things in my life," Husein says.

The success of the mural is being noticed by other instructors at surrounding schools. Painting is being used at IS 259 as a language tool and a learning tool for English Language Learner students. They have started their own mural on the fourth-floor corridor depicting America through its musical tradition, culture and other social aspects.

"Working on the mural helped me learn English and about U.S. history and culture," said eighth-grader Maria Perea, who arrived in the United States three years ago and whose poems are on the murals. "Writing poems was hard at first, but after a while I came up with so many ideas," said Perea.

"This is probably the greatest thing I have seen educationally, because it is not just hard work," Assistant Principal Gina Votinelli said. "It allows them to connect. And they are learning to be responsible, which they would not learn in the classroom."