They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but what about a mural?

"It's a way to, like, relieve stress for me. And I also like that I can just put all the ideas I have in my head on paper," says Jaliyah Padial, a sixth grader at North Albany Middle School.

Padial spent winter break transforming a dreary stairwell into a beautiful piece of art.

"Kids need an outlet, right? An outlet to whatever it is they want to be. to understand that, you know, I can make learning fun, I can make art a part of learning," says Rae Frasier.

There are two murals being created in partnership with the Albany Center Gallery. The girls are working with Frasier, an artist who loves working in art education. As an adult, she’s become the role model she always needed as a kid.

"I love working with kids because they're our future, essentially. Right? And I think that being someone who is inspiring to youth is a cool thing. But when you can kind of expose them to their own inspiration, I think that's where the real magic is," Frasier said.

According to NYSED, as of 2022, the New York State graduation rate was 87%. Frasier says that art can play a powerful role.

"I absolutely think art is essential to keeping kids in school and to keeping kids motivated and wanting to learn and It's how we stay in love with ourselves, right? And how we stay connected to ourselves. Art is that connectivity that connects us all as beings. What better place to do that in school?" Frasier said.

They’re trying make the mural colorful and fun but also send a positive message when their peers walk past it.

“I hope they feel inspired to start actually working towards their goals," says Tendai Rogers, a sixth grader at North Albany Middle School.