Woodbury School art teacher Deanna Clemente Milne, far left, and music teacher Luiz Coelho add finishing touches to a 500-tile mural that fifth-graders created over the past two months. The mural was unveiled Tuesday, just in time for the district-wide schools open house.

Art is not just for art's sake at Woodbury School in Shaker Heights. It's also for learning history, science, math, engineering, politics and environmental issues. The 475 Woodbury fifth-graders encountered all of the above as they created the grand ceramic tile mural that was unveiled at their school Tuesday. They also got lessons in teamwork.

"What would you change in the world?" art teachers Deanna Clemente Milne and Robert Bognar asked their classes in February. They told the students to unhinge their brains and come up with new ways to look at their environment. "I would create flying cars and make people fly," one youngster said. Another said he would design a whole new world, and a third would "bring peace and love." Then the children drew pictures of their imagined world which Milne and Bognar pieced together into one illustration.

Next, the teachers carved the picture into numbered squares and handed a 6-inch by 6-inch tile to each student who, in turn, drew a little section of the big picture on his or her tile. Finally, the tiles were glazed, then mounted on a wall close to both the library and the cafeteria which all students visit each day.

Overseeing everything was Shaker Heights artist George Woideck, who provided 500 tiles, the glaze and his expertise. Woideck frequently works with students, thanks to Young Audiences, a non-profit arts-in-education organization which connects artists with schools in this region. "I get more out of this than the kids," insisted Woideck, who specializes in architectural ceramics for homes and instututions. "I bring back so much energy and ideas from the students."

Before the Woodbury project started, Woideck taught students how tiles were used by ancient Greeks, how tiles survived Pompeii's volcanic disaster and the part tiles played in the Islamic world of the Middle Ages. He also showed them similar work done by other youngsters. Then he told the Shaker students they ewere about to enter "a special place where your imagination is everything."

The kids were enthusiastic. "Art lets you express your imagination and show people what you can do," Jasmine Coles, 11, proudly explained to a visitor. Ledonte Lykes, 12, took the mural project seriously. "There's a lot of pressure on us because this will be displayed in the hall and everyone will see it," he declared as he bent over his half-painted tile.

Teachers Milne and Bognar launched the mural project to put more art in the hallways and build recognition for the schools' art department, which they believe is an integral part of the curriculum. Using the tiles was a logical way to include lots of students, and because there were extras, a number of Woodbury teachers also participated. A $3,700 grant from the PTO covered the cost of materials. The colorful mural is only the beginning, Milne and Bognar said. "We made the design so other classes can add to it in coming years."