Jenann Elias has big dreams for Moore Middle School's library and hopes she can make them happen with the public's help.
Elias is a finalist in the KI Classroom Furniture Giveaway. In her first year at Moore and fourth with the district, she hopes to win the $40,000 design makeover and upgrade the library's decades-old furniture to make it more functional and appealing to students.
Some of the library's future has been in place since the 1960s when the school was built. Elias explained that some of it is screwed into place, other items are falling apart, and the flow of the room doesn't allow for students and classes to work effectively.
"I believe our students deserve better than dirty, broken, and outdated furniture," Elias said in a YouTube video explaining the remodel plans. "The way the room is set up now is not conducive to an engaging learning environment."
Elias said she found the contest on KI's social media and immediately went to work designing her dream library/media center using the company's design app. She created the new design to make a more inviting and functional space for students.
Mock up of new design plan for Moore Middle School library. (Photo: KI)
KI contacted her shortly after and said her design was in the running, making her the only West Coast contestant for libraries.
Elias has been trying to get the word out so that Redlanders and beyond will vote for her, giving the middle students a much-needed upgrade.
She said there is no money in the school budget for media centers, which means no new books or furniture. Some books have been donated by PTSA, and Elias has spent about $600 out of pocket updating some of the torn and disheveled copies.
Moore is a Title I school based on the number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meal programs, and about 10% of the school's students are special needs.
Elias is hoping to get enough votes so that the 120 students she sees daily before school, at lunch and after school, and the 3-4 classes that use the library regularly, will have room to move around, engage in different centers and find the library a more welcoming place.
The public is encouraged to vote for Moore before voting ends on Nov. 17.
