Battle Ground Public Schools

Visitors to River HomeLink’s main building have likely noticed a new addition taking shape on the east wall of the common area. A massive, colorful mural has slowly emerged over the past few months, thanks to River Online Learning teacher Alesa Corrin and some willing volunteers. 

River families have been blown away by the mural, stopping to stare for minutes at a time. “I had a couple of kids come in while I was painting and they noticed Bigfoot for the first time,” Corrin said. “People are still noticing new details.”

River HomeLink, a family-friendly, accredited public school, provides a range of parent-partnered educational options for kindergarten through 12th grade students living within the Battle Ground Public Schools district. Families can choose from online to at-home learning programs and onsite classes. One unique aspect of the school is its parent participation. The school is often brimming with students and caring adults who can’t help but notice the mural’s slow evolution.

Corrin, who admits to constantly doodling, says River Principal Matt Kesler noticed a doodle of a Lynx, the school’s mascot, in her notebook and asked if she would be interested in painting a mural. “I said ‘sure, what do you have in mind?’” the fourth year teacher recalled. “He said, ‘blank canvas.’ Which did not help… at all.”

After working with the school’s art teachers to sketch out a design, Corrin figured out how to project it onto the wall to draw the outline. She then enlisted the help of art teacher Anita Hindberg, parent volunteers, and a custodian. Using painting supplies provided by the River HomeLink PTO, the group has spent one or two hours a night, several nights a week, working to bring the mural to life. “It was a learning experience,” Corrin said. She credits Hindberg, who is retiring at the end of this year, with guiding the process. 

If you don’t have a chance to see her artwork in person, you can also read Corrin’s writing. She spends her summers penning fiction, and in 2017 she self-published the first book of a young adult fantasy trilogy titled “Prince of Dreams.” 

The story focuses on a teen named Jonathan who learns he must guard the dreams of everyone in the world from nightmares that are beginning to spill over into reality. Corrin says she finished her initial draft of the story when she was just 17 and has been editing the books ever since. The second book in her series is due out in July.

“I always loved reading and finding that I could write the kinds of adventures I wanted to read proved to be a really healthy escape for me during middle school,” Corrin said. “I could create characters that I really loved, and it became a really fun hobby.”