Thank you, first grade teacher Allison Locy!

Staples Office Supply, through their Business Advantage Classroom Makeover, awarded the makeover of the first grade classroom at Grant Elementary School on Kenosha’s northside. This is due to first grade teacher Allison Locy’s application being awarded first place over 450 applicants nationwide. Her heartfelt submission described the challenges of teaching in a 100 year old building with outdated materials and limited resources and how her students’ resilience, gratitude, and eagerness to learn keep her motivated every day. Her entry reflected the mission of the program perfectly: to create meaningful change in a classroom that truly needs it. Her genuine love for teaching and her students, many of whom form low socio-economic backgrounds, was both moving and inspiring.

Here is a look at the classroom before the makeover:

Grant’s first grade classroom now has the benefits of new furniture, supplies, technology, paper and a more collaborative learning environment.