You’ve probably heard of the term “flipping houses” where someone buys a run-down house and makes many improvements then sells it for profit. Some local teachers are now “flipping” their classrooms, not for profit but for something much more valuable.
Ashley Benoit is a third-grade teacher at Faith Christian Academy. Benoit wanted to make her students feel at home in her classroom but she didn’t feel that way when she first walked into her new class.
“It doesn’t really make me want to sit down and learn something,” Benoit said of the original classroom.
Benoit got the green-light from the school to make changes, and thus began the process of sanding, painting and redecorating.
“I want my students to walk in and feel like ‘okay this is home. This is where I’m supposed to be,’” Benoit said.
Benoit started working on the classroom in early June and said she’s lost count of the amount of hours she’s put in. Almost all of the money came from her own pocket.
“I tutored over the summer to help pay for it, I sold some of my other resources to help pay for it,” Benoit said. “It’s at least around $800. Probably closer to $1,000.”
Now, Benoit’s students are the only things missing from the classroom.
“That is what I’ve been looking forward to all summer, is just their faces when they walk in,” Benoit said.
That joy doesn’t come with a price tag. It comes from a love that only teachers can provide.
“There are so many parts of school that kids don’t like, if they can come into a space and automatically feel like ‘this is where I’m supposed to be! This is awesome! This is where I want to be,’ then it’s worth it,” Benoit said.