By Daily Press staff
While schools in Topanga prepare for back-to-school, one classroom at Hale Middle School may receive a once-in-a-lifetime designer facelift, thanks to an essay written by eighth-grade student Alexa St. Martin.
St. Martin described how her teacher, Angela Gotschall, deserved a classroom makeover, and has been selected from among 500 first-prize winners to become one of 21 semifinalists in the EXPO Classroom Makeover program. Now, St. Martin has the chance to win the grand prize — a colorful $25,000 makeover for Gotschall’s classroom, created by celebrity designer Genevieve Gorder from TLC’s Trading Spaces.
“Designing a classroom is a dream for me,” Gorder said. “Teachers have one of the most important jobs in the world yet you rarely get that from the aesthetics of the classroom. Kids are my favorite clients, to have a chance to work for them and improve a teacher’s environment through functionality and form is something I never pass up.”
In her essay, St. Martin described how Gotschall’s lively spirit has influenced her drama class to express colorful emotion while acting, and therefore, her drab classroom is in need of a makeover to “set the stage”for a more stimulating environment. As a semifinalist, St. Martin has already won a $1,000 classroom makeover for Gotschall’s room, featuring new dry erase boards, markers and accessories along with $600 in U.S. Savings Bonds for herself. Now St. Martin’s essay has a chance to make the final grade.
“I’m always excited when my students step up to the plate and make things happen, so you can imagine I was blown away to learn that Alexa had written an essay that’s now won our classroom a makeover,” Gotschall said. “She’s a phenomenal student who is always challenging herself and taking charge on projects. The fact that she wrote this essay to help benefit our drama class is a prime example of her drive and leadership. I couldn’t be happier for her accomplishment.”
The contest, which ran Feb. 1 through June 1, invited students in grades second through 12th nationwide to write a short essay describing why their teacher deserved a classroom makeover. Twenty-one semifinalists were chosen. Out of the 21 semifinalists, one grand prize winner will be chosen. The grand prize winner will be announced in September. Lunch on the John Wayne Cancer Institute
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 29, 2006. Read the original PDF.