Covington Partners
Stressed and sometimes overwhelmed, teachers at Ninth District Elementary School didn’t have a place to go at school to relax and recharge. Instead, they typically sat in their rooms, often continuing to plan, grade papers, and eat a quick lunch.
The designated staff space doubled as a place for students to work and a landing space for extra school supplies. The room had child-sized furniture, bright fluorescent lights and piles of miscellaneous supplies.
Ninth District administrators heard about a grant that could help create a staff “wellness” space and jumped at the chance to apply.
“Our staff’s social and emotional wellbeing has become a high priority at Ninth District,” said Principal Kieli Ferguson. “As principal, I want to ensure that staff are mentally and physically healthy to be successful in their craft as an educator.”
Ferguson said she hopes the refurbished room will be “an adult-friendly inviting space that allows staff to decompress, unplug and recharge. Our staff deserve this space and so much more as they pour all of their creative, mental and physical energy into students every day.”
Ferguson expressed gratitude to Julie Muehlenkamp, coordinator of the school’s Community Learning Center, and the students in the center, called the Viking Zone. Muehlenkamp and Covington Partners applied for the NKCES Educator Wellbeing Student Design Challenge grant and helped with gathering staff, student and community support for the project.
At least 90 percent of the students who were able to take a survey said their teachers have provided them extra support during the Covid-19 pandemic. The students said they wanted to do something to show their teachers they care about them and want them to be happy.
Muehlenkamp and other staff worked to get input from students about the project and gather their ideas. After hearing about staff preferences regarding color and images, students were asked to list five items they thought teachers would want in the new room. They decided the room needed to be a teacher-only space with comfortable couches, chairs, a rug, a television, better food options, and pictures or paint on the walls.
The first step in the redesign involved removing the child-sized furniture and putting in new furniture to allow for staff to talk, eat and relax. One wall was painted an accent color, while all walls were decorated with artwork and other images. Fabric light covers hope to reduce the brightness of the room. With grant funds, Covington Partners was able to purchase new dining tables, rocking chairs, storage shelving, and create sections in the room, including a calming corner, dining area, and kitchen space complete with new microwaves, a toaster, and coffee and tea station.
The Mission Continues, a veteran-based volunteer group, helped remodel the space and provided in-kind donations, including refinishing an old bench in the space.