Teachers’ lounge receives makeover

Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Campus received a teachers’ lounge makeover courtesy of Crayola and Walmart.

The kindergarten-through-second grade campus at 700 S. Main St. was selected as one of 12 winning schools in the nationwide Crayola Creativity Week’s Creative Teachers Sweepstakes. Walmart provided the school with $3,000 in gift cards to purchase items for the makeover and an additional $1,000 to teachers to purchase additional items for the lounge. Crayola furnished $1,000 in art supplies.

“One thing I’ve done, I’ve actually walked around to each one of these classrooms and observed every teacher teach,” said first grade teacher Melanie Madkin, who registered the campus for the contest. “They go really hard in class for these students. I mean, their feet are actually on the gas and they just make sure these scholars receive all the knowledge they need to be successful citizens. So, what made me so happy to receive this blessing, or this makeover, is that they deserve it. Not just the teachers, the staff. They deserve a place to relax. To know this lounge is catered to them, not just one specific teacher, it’s a teachers’ lounge. So, that’s why I am so excited about the teachers’ lounge.”

Walmart store manager Essica Clifton presented a giant $1,000 check to the Friendship teachers.

“I want to thank Melanie, Principal Ashley Williams and the other school officials for letting Walmart be a part of your

Crayola Teacher Makeover event,” Clifton said. “I have associates whose children attend this academy, and it was a pleasure to come out and celebrate and appreciate the teachers by helping transform their lounge into a place of relaxation between classes.”

Teacher Chino Fifer said the makeover was a great investment and great acknowledgment of the work teachers do daily.

“They have showed out in the teachers’ lounge,” said Krystal Cosen, a firstgrade English language arts teacher at Friendship-Downtown. “It just seems welcoming and inviting. The setup, the containers, it’s just beautiful.”

(Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell) Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Campus teachers accept a $1,000 check from Walmart in the school lobby on Thursday. Principal Ashley Williams (from left), Walmart store manager Essica Clifton, Walmart team leader Brittany Lowden, and teachers Melanie Madkin and Krystal Cosen celebrate the gift.

(Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell) The new teachers’ lounge at Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Campus is revealed Thursday. Principal Ashley Williams (left) and teachers Melanie Madkin and Chino Fifer are shown in the recently updated lounge.