JCAFT ACTION Newsletter

EXTREME CLASSROOM MAKEOVER

Text Box: Tracee Binion, brainchild of Extreme Classroom Makeover The Extreme Classroom Makeover Project---what began as a mere passing thought---was a dream come true for Project Coordinator, Tracee Binion. Mrs. Binion’s vision began as a way to help teachers understand the importance of the built classroom environment and the impact that it has on student and teacher performance. “My idea originally was to provide the classroom with the basics to create good environmental quality, such as removing carpet, improving the classroom HVAC system, ridding the room of excess clutter and providing new lighting and fresh paint. However, the project became so much more than that. We

were able to create a healthy and rich learning environment with state of the art furniture and equipment in two classrooms. I never dreamed that the project would receive so much support.”

Tracee has been working on IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) issues in the Jefferson County School system since 2003. She has served on the Jefferson County Indoor Air Quality Committee and has helped to write and coordinate an EPA Asthma grant for Jefferson County Schools. She has also helped coordinate the partnership between the Jefferson County Board of Education and the UAB Lung Health Center. Currently she serves as JCAFT’s Health and Safety Director.

The Jefferson County Board of Education, The Jefferson County Labor Council and The JCAFT, were the three original partners in the makeover project. They all provided substantial backing for the undertaking. The Jefferson County Board of Education provided computers and science equipment for the Bagley Jr. High Science lab. The Jefferson County Labor Council provided funding and labor for the projects. The JCAFT, with the help of the AFT National Health and Safety Department, provided equipment, labor and food for the projects.

Generous corporate sponsorship helped to provide for the remaining classroom needs. “Without the leadership of the Gary C. Wyatt Contracting Company this project would not have been possible,” said Dr. Rafael McDaniel, Director of New Construction for The Jefferson County School System. Mr. Wyatt not only donated a foreman and work crews for the makeovers, but also provided cabinets, tables, chairs and other equipment for both classrooms. In addition, the County Commission lent its generous support to the project. Commissioner Shelia Smoot served on the ten-member Selection Committee, while County Commissioners Bettye Fine Collins and Mary Buckelew each provided $5000 for technology needs in the classrooms. Other corporate sponsors of the Extreme Classroom Makeovers include: Bodine, Inc., Dixie Acoustical Contracting, Financial Matters, G & S Glass & Supply, Home Depot, Marcum Electric, Nakamura, Quinn & Walls, LLP, Office Depot, Organizing Associates, Inc., Roden Electric, Stelter Partners, Trane Heating and Air Conditioning, Trinity Electrical Contractors, Victory Plumbing and Pipefitting, Inc., and WHATABURGER.

“The Extreme Classroom Makeover project has definitely been one of the most exciting and rewarding projects that this union has ever undertaken. I would love to see us do this again in the future,” says President of JCAFT, Vi Parramore. A meeting will be held soon with

the Jefferson County Board of Education and the Jefferson County Commission to plan the future of this type of project. It is likely that another classroom makeover project will be scheduled for next year. Smiling Tracee Binion says, “The greatest outcome of this entire project is that, although the work on these classrooms at Chalkville Elementary and Bagley Jr.High is finished, the benefits for teachers and students will continue to be felt for years to come. It’s all about leaving a legacy for children,”

BAGLEY GETS NEW

SCIENCE LAB

“It is hard to tell who is most excited about our new science lab my students or me”, says Debra Reeser, Science Instructor at Bagley. The JCAFT Extreme Classroom Makeover has benefited our school in ways that we could have never projected. When it was announced that my classroom had won the makeover, a student in one of my classes who had never spoken to me, nor participated in class or showed any interest in our subject approached me with a huge grin and offered his congratulations. From that day forward he has been excited about learning. Even now, though he no longer takes my class, he appears every morning at 7:20 to study his current subjects while I tutor my present students. When I invited last semester’s students to enjoy the classroom anytime they wanted, I never anticipated the response. Several former students show up each morning for study session. I asked a few why they were not out and about socializing before school and the reply was almost always “This room is where we come to learn.”

The plus benefits of the makeover are stupendous. The cabinetry has allowed us to be better organized. I no longer have to search through boxes for items needed for demonstration or labs. Everything I need is assessable. The organizational system has allowed me to keep a precise inventory. I no longer reach for something that is not available and can restock before items are needed. In addition I do not purchase items that are already

present in multiples. The new lab tables have made lab exercises safer and easier to perform. The students have a level, stable surface on which to work. There are less accidents and more room to move around. Our hot water source has facilitated clean up. We no longer use a coffee maker to heat water for our labs. The students also wash their hands more often, especially before lunch.

Cleaner air is a wonderful thing!! I no longer have an instant sinus reaction when I walk into the room every morning!! We have thermostat-controlled air conditioners that really work. They heat or cool on demand, keeping the room at a comfortable 72 degrees. Students no longer are uncomfortable; the temperature is not a distraction. In addition, having a fume hood has been a true blessing. I do not have to hold my breath while mixing chemicals for labs. All students, even the most sensitive asthma students, are unaffected and can now stay in the room during labs that require us to use combustion for a result. All reactions are performed under the fume hood and no waste gases are emitted in the room. .

This project also gave us new computers and science equipment, along with the wireless internet-access that most of the school also uses. The new computers and internet access has allowed students to not only instantly research science questions that arise during our discussions, but they also use the computers to do research for other classes, type papers, and any other task necessary to achieve a higher level of learning. With two new PCs and a new teacher desk, I was able to set up a student center stocked with everything a student would need to complete an assignment. Not one pencil or pen has disappeared.

Other teachers were equally excited when I told them of our new science equipment. This equipment is shared by all grades as it is needed, but teachers in grades 5 through 9 use it extensively. Some of them actually stood over me as I opened boxes and inventoried the new things. I know the younger students will get excited about science and will look forward to learning and experiencing more.

The appearance of our room motivates all who come through the door. We now have a real, professional looking door, beautiful colors on the walls, tiles, ceiling and new bright lighting. The whole affect is inviting and pleasant. I over heard one student saying to another as they walked through the door, “Don’t tell anybody, but I really like coming in this room.” I would

like to think that my teaching style has something to do with that remark, but I know that the Extreme Classroom Makeover has done a lot to promote that feeling. The Faculty and student body of Bagley joins with me to say a huge THANK YOU from all of us!

NEW CLASSROOM AT CHALKVILE ELEMENTARY

Being one of the recipients of the Extreme Classroom Makeover has been the highlight of my career thus far. I am still in shock and awe over the whole experience.

It has been so wonderful to have a room that is custom designed to fit the needs of the students in my class instead of the students having to adapt to the environment. The heating and air units were replaced with HVAC Systems; no longer do we have to scream over the noise of the window air units. Also, our harsh fluorescent lights were replaced with diffused lighting. This has reduced the seizure activity of the children as well as the distractions.

These are just a few of the vast number of improvements that were made in our classroom. We are so very grateful to AFT, the Board of Education, our principals and all of our sponsors.

BAGLEY THANKS YOU

The Classroom Makeover at Bagley has done so much for the students that it is simply amazing. AFT has taken Debra Reeser’s Science Classroom and actually created a permanent laboratory with endless possibilities. This makeover has actually given an excellent science teacher the tools and fixtures needed to create an ideal classroom atmosphere that promotes student interest and curiosity. Debra’s classroom has always been a hands-on learning environment; this makeover only helps Debra to assist students to reach their full potential and beyond.

Thanks AFT for always putting students and employees first. We, teachers at Bagley are so proud to be associated with an organization that does so much for its members and the students of Jefferson County. The employees of this system should feel truly blessed to have a choice when it comes to joining a teachers’ union. This choice should be the AFT! Why? The AFT continues to lead the way in innovations that benefit both the students and its members.

Last spring I received a call from Tracee Binion, Health and Safety Coordinator for the Jefferson County American Federation of Teachers. She introduced herself and shared a great idea. She asked, “Would you be interested in organizing a classroom for an Extreme Classroom Makeover---Like the ones they show on television?” She peaked my interest when she explained that it was a pilot program designed to improve air quality in the classroom for a public school in Jefferson County, Alabama.

As a professional organizer, I understood exactly what she was talking about. Organizing space can have a positive impact on health by reducing stress, work-related accidents, and improve things like air quality. Organizing a classroom is something of a challenge. It makes a difference how the space is used and that depends on the age and number of students, the subjects being taught and requirements for special needs. The classrooms we tackled were a middle-school science classroom and an elementary special education room.

The teachers, Ms. Debra Reeser’s and Ms. Janice Grady, were struggling with enormous clutter. The science classroom had so little space that the 6-foot reptile tank (very popular with the kids) was actually partially blocking part of a doorway. The teachers were doing their best to manage their space most efficiently; but because of their daunting challenges, their classrooms were chosen as the most “in need” of a makeover. After analyzing how these teachers worked, what files they needed to store nearby, what they could file at a distance and what they could do without, we created a new space that worked with them instead of against

them. With the help of space designers Denise Glenn, Ann Underwood, and a host of others performing the physical work, we completely transformed these spaces into an attractive, clean and more comfortable place to learn.

Have you ever noticed that a “stored” file collects dust and grows mold, but a “managed” file, since it is moved when necessary, doesn’t? That is how file management drastically improves air quality. Both teachers were eager to learn how to manage their files. One of the keys to efficient paper management is Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger Software. Paper Tiger is a numeric filing system that is like putting a search engine on your file cabinet. Using key words, action dates and categories, Paper Tiger remembers where your files are and what’s in them so you don’t have to. For teachers, that means they can save their brainpower for more creative applications—like teaching our children!

Paper Tiger software makes it easy for substitute teachers, or anyone else for that matter, to find information in the classroom. Another benefit is there is always room for more. Numeric filing

means no more shoving files deeper to the back of the drawer to squeeze one more folder in the “R” section! There are so many other good reasons to use this tool.

One of the most important things I learned through this experience is that the children of Alabama deserve the best possible education we can provide and we need to do everything possible to make this happen for them. We all should take lessons from Tracee and others involved in this project, put all partisan thoughts aside, and just look at the faces of those children! They are our future leaders. So next year when your phone rings, and its Tracee calling about air quality in the classroom, I urge you to say emphatically, “Yes!” Our children will thank you.

Organizing Associates, a reseller of Kiplinger’s Taming the Paper Tiger, transforms working spaces for businesses, public agencies and schools. For more information, visit www.organizingassociates.com or call 205-980-2900.

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