Students are the BEST Teachers - Collaboration is the KEY

School:: Walton High School
Subject:: Low Performing Students
Teacher:: Kelley Stephenson
: Randi McKie
Students Impacted:: 80
Grade:: 9-12
Date:: October 9, 2023

Investor

Thank you to the following investor for funding this grant.

Florida Power & Light - $1,498.52

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 120

My tables and chairs are used every day by my students and classes.

We love the flexibility to use one table for three students - or push two tables together and have a group of five students. This allows me to group students differently in each class, if needed.

We also love the versatility of the tables. The surface is smooth and easy to write on as a flat surface, compared to student desks that have a tilt to them. The surface is like a whiteboard and allows students to write on the top to remember important information, study, review, and put their thinking outside of their head. This helps me as the teacher to help them where they need it.

These tables are game changers for my English Language Learners (ELLs). I am able to differentiate my instuction and use Expo markers to write on the tables. For example, I have a new student this week from Guatamala. He knows Spanish and is learning English. I wrote on his table: I am, You are, He is, They are, We are... to help him remember. Other students don't need the same assistance... but for others I write a sentence stem to help them write sentences in English.

We have also used my room and these tables for testing - the Classical Learning Test (CLT). I was able to test my ELL students in a familiar environment, per their ELL plan, and offer flexibility with the tables and chairs. Especially during a stressful time like testing, I was glad to still use my room and my new tables.

I have so much gratitude for the Walton Education Foundation and investors. They are the game changers who are helping Walton County to truly be the BEST place for students to learn and teachers to teach!

I had several pictures to add, however, my phone is not cooperating. I will try to share them with Ms. Harp later.

Original Grant Overview

Goal

My goal is to create a classroom environment where collaboration is the emphasis. Why? Students learn best with each other when they "struggle" a bit to understand. Using these whiteboard tables and chairs, I can place my students together in small groups to work on the same skills.

What will be done with my students

For instance, they have completed an essay for me. Now, I will put them in smaller groups to work on areas of the essay where they struggled (capitalization, puncutation, introduction, conclusion...). These tables and chairs will allow students to work through those areas, write down things on the table, and then take it back to their essay to revise/edit. This will also allow me and my aide to target smaller groups of students and meet them where they are. From the picture above, students worked together to review after reading a novel. They charted all of the characters from the novel and how they were each related on their tabletop. It was a powerful activity where every student added to the learning and collaborated in their group. As a BONUS, no paper was wasted with this activity!

Benefits to my students

There are SO MANY benefits for my students with these whiteboard tables and chairs. First, they can be put together like puzzle pieces to make different arrangements. This gives me added flexibility that having clunky individual student desks. The students also like having a chair to sit in and not the desk that restricts their movements. Second, the classroom is more inviting for the students. Gone are the rows of desks and students sitting quietly listening to the teacher the entire class period. Now, instruction takes place and then the students get to put that learning into practice in collaborative ways! Lastly, my janitorial staff loves these desks and chairs! Truly, they are easy to clean around and the table tops are durable and easy to clean as well.

Budget Narrative

A total of three (3) tables and five (5) chairs will be purchased from School Outfitters. They are providing me with a discount on shipping ($301.92) to keep the cost below $1500.

Items

#	Item	Cost
1	Cog Collaborative Whiteboard Table ($263.88 each X 3))	$775.80
2	Chrome Sled Base Stack Chair (5 for 4.29.40)	$420.80
3	Shipping	$301.92
	Total:	$1,498.52

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