‘Lift teachers up.’ Non-profit donates Kentucky classroom makeovers. See the reaction.

First-graders in Sibbie Blevins’ class at Clark County’s Strode Station Elementary on Monday squealed and exclaimed when they saw how a new non-profit organization had executed a colorful makeover of their classroom this past weekend.

Karen Haskins, a former principal at Lexington’s Breckinridge Elementary said she and former educator Patricia Sturgill Hughes created the non-profit called Designing Classrooms because Kentucky teachers are under pressure to raise scores and create an inviting classroom environment on a shoestring budget.

“It’s awesome,” student Addison Mullins said when she saw that her formerly no-frills class had been transformed with bright dots of dry-erase spaces on each desk, walls repainted with a water color theme, new learning centers for writing, reading and math, a new listening center, and a new desk and technology devices for her teacher.

Schools generally do not have the funds to give teachers so they can make such transformations, said Haskins. Teachers are underpaid and often go into the profession with a large student loan debt, she said. Some teachers are single parents trying to raise a family and can’t afford to buy extra for their classrooms, she said.

“Teachers pour out their lives giving of themselves selflessly every day for very little pay,” said Haskins. “A classroom makeover with all resources needed will lift teachers up and end some sleepless nights trying to figure out how to make it happen. “

The non-profit’s goal is helping to improve classroom environments through classroom makeovers, organizing, and providing resources such as classroom libraries, furnishings, and equipment.

The cost of the makeover at Strode Station was approximately $3,800, paid for with donations. Haskins said Blevins’ application to Designing Classrooms stood out because she focused on her student’s needs when she asked for supplies and classroom changes.

“I’m so excited for my kids,” said Blevins, who has been a teacher for 23 1/2 years “This gives them an opportunity to look forward to go to school even more.”

Blevins said within hours of the big reveal, the first graders in the classroom were taking ownership of their new surroundings, with one boy telling another not to run.

“You better stop,” he said. “You are going to mess up our new room.”

Student Pearce Chamberlain said the new colors surprised him. Kinley Clem said the changes made she and her classmates “happy.”

“This is going to be so much of a safe haven, a place where they can feel like a kid,” Strode Station Elementary librarian Maryann Mandola said Monday when she saw the changes.

Hughes was a former reading coach at Breckinridge Elementary in Fayette County and previously a Gifted and Talented Coordinator at Floyd County Schools. Haskins was also a former principal at Betsy Layne Elementary in Floyd County. Haskins, Hughes and others worked from Friday afternoon until midnight Monday on the transformation.

Stefany Moran, a 24-year-old Morehead State University graduate who studied art and who attended Strode Station Elementary as a child, painted a wall in Blevins’ classroom as part of the project.

“Kids, they stay in classroom for most of the day,” Moran said. “We want to make their day as positive as possible.”

While Blevins’ class is the first that Designing Classrooms has worked with , each month a selection committee comprised of educators will select one Kentucky classroom from applications provided by teachers. In addition to Haskins and Hughes, the selection committee includes a retired superintendent, a professor at Morehead State University, and two other retired principals.

The sponsors for the organization’s first makeover included Merit Furniture, Community Trust Bank, Central Bank, former teacher Tessa Zanke, Lexington Children’s Theatre, Steak n Shake of Winchester (Ryan Dotson, owner) , Rod Hatfield, and Stephen D. Prater Construction.

Lexington Children’s Theatre also gave the class tickets to an upcoming spring performance.

This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 3:24 PM.