On their first day, Monarch Academy students were greeted at a school in an office park with walls like an empty canvas.

Six months later and the walls are covered, floor-to-ceiling, with a full-color mural depicting what Glen Burnie was like before Ritchie and Crain Highways. It's a reminder of Maryland's long history.

"It sends them the message about being a citizen and that school is important," Principal Maurine Larkin said. "The students understand they are a part of something bigger."

Halfway into its first year, the county's third generation charter school appears to be thriving....