Some Neptune Elementary students will experience their “dream classroom” when they head back to school Monday.
Last week, the Addition Financial Foundation revealed its annual “Renovate to Educate” dream classroom remodel, done in collaboration with interns from Seminole State College, the staff from Addition Financial Credit Union and with the teachers and staff currently working at Neptune Elementary in Osceola County.
Neptune psychologist Pamela Batlemento’s story deeply touched the hearts of the judges in this year’s contest.
“This classroom is the most deserving,” said Osceola School District Superintendent Mark Shanoff. “This will be transformative. It will really help these students get to where they need to be.”
The Foundation’s Renovate to Educate, in its sixth year, is a program dedicated to thanking teachers for their hard work by selecting a few each year to receive their dream classroom makeover by providing revisions up to $2,500 per classroom. Their mission is to foster empowerment in the community through financial education and charitable giving.
“Our work in the classroom, will make their environment more calming, [it’ll] feel more like home.” Cassie Roach, principal marketing specialist for Addition Financial, said.
Over the course of the many weeks they’ve spent working, the interns began the project by interviewing the teachers in the classroom and taking measurements, they then took the concept and transformed it into potential ideas that would be presented to Addition. After, a budget would given and students would get the real world experience of working with that budget, gathering supplies, and ensuring that the aspects of the dream classroom were included, as they and other volunteers worked on the classroom throughout the summer.
The classroom now features a reading and sensory quiet area, new paint and wall décor, and has been stocked with the school supplies young elementary students typically need.
For the Neptune Elementary kindergarten and first grade trauma center, which is the only one of its kind in the county, this change marks a significant milestone. It is entering its next year and is the only classroom of its kind in the county. A trauma-informed classroom is a safe and supportive environment for children who have been through serious events in their life. It is designed to meet the unique needs of children and promote their social-emotional development and healing.
“It’s going to be completely different,” Batlemento said. “It really shows that they’re valued.”
Batlemento and Stephanie Martinez, who will be the teacher for the upcoming school year, expressed how excited they are for the students to come into a classroom where they have all the tools they need at their disposal and where they can be safe, comfortable, loved, and ready to learn.
Neptune Elementary’s kindergarten and first grade trauma center, the only one of its kind in the county, has been given a makeover through the Additions Financial “Renovate to Educate Program,” including a new sensory quiet area and plenty of school supplies.
PHOTO/MING HENRY
