May 30, 2023

TALENT – The Outdoor Discovery Program this morning unveiled its freshly restored and re-hung sign in a short gathering of students, staff and parents in front of the building.

As the crowd watched from the parking lot, three students pulled a rope attached to the sheet that covered the sign, revealing the roughly 6-foot by 3-foot display. The sign includes the name of the school flanked by two trees, all under a yellow sun and a “Talent Elementary School” heading.

Longtime ODP teacher Erin Mahanay said the sign had been placed in storage about two years ago as the building was being painted and stayed there until a few months ago, when two ODP parents – Josh Courter and Giulia Longo – offered to restore it to its former glory. 

They have a business – they restore vintage trailers and vintage things, and so they volunteered to work on it and they’ve been working on it for several months,” Mahanay said. “It turned out to be more of a project than they thought.

“It’s amazing, and it really is a symbol of our program. After the fire and after covid and after everything that’s happened, it feels really good to have it. It feels like we really are back.”