In 2020, Wheeling Park High School ELA teacher, JoAnn White, brought a particularly comfortable chair to her classroom. “It was a camping chair,” White states, “But for some reason, EVERYONE wanted to sit in that camping chair!” The camping chair evolved into a back of the classroom staple, a class reward, and ultimately, students would arrive to class on time (or early) for their chance to claim the chair as their own.
Years later, the experience inspired White to redo standard seating in her classroom to something more student-focused. White wrote a request through DonorsChoose, an organization whose motto is, “Support a classroom. Build a future.” DonorsChoose specializes in helping teachers fund projects that may be outside the realm of what a school would normally financially cover or provide. All school classrooms have desks for students, but through White’s request, she envisioned an environment that inspired students to rush to class, the same way the camping chair did in 2020.
As a whole, White submitted her request to DonorsChoose at $17,000. The supplies requested would completely revamp her learning environment and included multiple pieces of furniture from Lakeshore Learning and various furniture and classroom related items from Amazon Business.
To White’s surprise, an organization called Wing2Wing picked up the tab (and many other tabs in WV on DonorsChoose Match Day) funding her project entirely. Now, when entering White’s classroom, you see multiple “Big Joe” lounge chairs, and amazing booth style seating accompanied by brand new rolling desks allowing for various formations pending the needs of students. This is in addition to standard desks for a student who prefers classic seating.
“When students walk in, their jaws drop,” adds Karin Butyn, Director of Public Relations, “It’s a place they’re excited to be.”
DonorsChoose
#DonorsChoose #FlexSeating #21stCenturyLearning #InstructioninOCS