4 Educators Win Classroom Makeovers in KI Giveaway -- THE Journal

Learning Spaces

4 Educators Win Classroom Makeovers in KI Giveaway

By Rhea Kelly
12/02/24

Furniture manufacturer KI has announced the results of its third annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway. Four winners will receive up to $40,000 worth of KI furniture to implement their ideal classroom design: Anna Zibro of Rensselaer Park Elementary School in Troy, NY; Jennifer Childers of Kellyville Academy Alternative Education School in Kellyville, OK; Melissa Weiner of Woodway Elementary School in Fort Worth, TX; and Jenann Elias of Moore Middle School in Redlands, CA.

All entrants submitted designs for their dream learning space using KI's online Classroom Planner tool. KI selected 12 finalists for a nationwide public vote, which resulted in the following winning designs (as described in a news announcement):

At Rensselaer Park Elementary School, Zibro designed a third grade classroom with zones to support various activities and meet students' different learning styles, abilities, and social-emotional needs.
At Kellyville Academy Alternative Education School, Childers created a versatile high school classroom that embraces color theory and tactile learning, and enables students to easily switch between arts, sciences, and learning life skills.
Weiner of Woodway Elementary School designed a vibrant, inclusive special education space to accommodate students with different learning and mobility needs and support independent, group, and pre-vocational learning.
For the library media center at Moore Middle School, Elias created a modern hub with an adaptable layout to support student autonomy, creativity, and collaboration — as well as larger groups and hands-on programming.

In addition, eight runners-up will each receive 20 Ruckus whiteboards.

"We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Anna, Jennifer, Melissa, and Jenann," said Bryan Ballegeer, vice president of education markets at KI, in a statement. "Each of our winners demonstrates a deep commitment to understanding their students' perspectives, meeting their individual needs, and supporting their learning journeys. We're thrilled to help make these inspiring designs a reality."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Featured

You've Paid for Tutoring. Here's How to Make Sure It Works.

As districts and states nationwide invest in tutoring, it remains one of the best tools in our educational toolkit, yielding positive impacts on student learning at scale. But to maximize return on investment, both financially and academically, we must focus on improving implementation.
Google Cloud Study: Early Agentic AI Adopters See Better ROI

Google Cloud has released its second annual ROI of AI study, finding that 52% of enterprise organizations now deploy AI agents in production environments. The comprehensive survey of 3,466 senior leaders across 24 countries highlights the emergence of a distinct group of "agentic AI early adopters" who are achieving measurably higher returns on their AI investments.
Zoom to Fund AI Education with $10 Million in Grants

Zoom Cares, the global social impact arm of collaboration platform Zoom, has announced a three-year, $10 million commitment to expand access to AI education and opportunity through both national and regional grants.
Microsoft, OpenAI Restructure Partnership

Microsoft and OpenAI have announced they are redefining their partnership as part of a major recapitalization effort aimed at preparing for the arrival of artificial general intelligence (AGI).