HGTV designers remake Pine View Elementary art room
By B.C. Manion
When Pine View Elementary learned that it won a $25,000 art room makeover from Bounty, the Land O’ Lakes campus was abuzz with excitement.
The anticipation reached a fever pitch on Dec. 15 at a pep rally to celebrate the school’s good fortune and set the stage for the big reveal.
Kids were pumped up at the rally, holding signs proclaiming their love of art, chanting the school’s initials and cheering wildly when art teacher Jill Hallauer’s name was announced.
Principal Judy Cosh called out the names of 20 children, drawn at random, to accompany the art teacher, school board members and Superintendent Heather Fiorentino to witness the unveiling.
Meanwhile, the rest of the school watched in the school cafeteria, as a live feed on a giant screen showed every move.
When the doors opened, the art teacher’s face showed her delight.
She continued to express her amazement as she moved through the room, with its orange, pink, lime green and blue designer chairs, its black and white graphic floor, its art supplies and high technology.
Children gave the room’s new look high marks.
“It looks awesome,” said 11-year-old Victoria Dominguez.
“It’s really cool,” agreed 9-year-old Courtney Eckel. She praised the chairs and the classroom’s floor and said she thinks her teacher likes them, too.
Cortney and Robert Novogratz, stars of the HGTV show, “Home by Novogratz,” did the design.
The couple said they enjoyed designing a space where they hope creativity will flourish.
The key was to honor the teacher’s list because the teacher knows her students better than the designers, Robert Novogratz said.
And, the goal was to create a fun environment that will make the kids want to be there, he added.
He also hopes that children will be exposed to all of the possible careers that have a connection to art.
“It could be design. It could be interior design. It could be technology. It could be music. It’s about creativity. We want to inspire creativity.”
“The world has changed and all of the real jobs now are in design, technology, creativity.
“We’re no longer an industrial nation. We stopped making stuff after World War II, yet the curriculum in America really hasn’t changed. Where they should be adding art and creativity, they’re taking it away.”
Pine View’s principal said she’s happy and grateful that her school won the makeover. It was the grand prize in Bounty’s TeacherWishList.com competition.
“It really helps the morale and truly feels like Christmas here in our school,” Cosh said.
The school was shocked when it found out it won, said Assistant Principal Traci Hemingway.
“It’s like playing the lottery. You don’t ever think it’s (winning) going to happen to you,” Hemingway said. “When we got the call, we were looking for hidden cameras, thinking this was some sort of spoof.”
The art teacher said her reaction was: “Oh, my gosh, are you kidding me?’ ” Hallauer recalled.
She said her wish list had items that would last for years.
She asked to have her projector mounted, for high-tech items and tools to create art.
“We have 740 students. If I asked for crayons and markers, they’d be all gone.”
The makeover exceeded her expectations, and the art teacher said she’s excited for her students.
“I think it’s going to immediately inspire them. I believe they’re going to feel like real artists.”
The makeover comes at a time when art budgets across the country are threatened, and it helps draw a spotlight to the importance of having art in a school’s curriculum, Hallauer said.
“For some of the kids, this is the only place where they shine.
“There’s a lot of pressure with academics now. There’s a lot of pressure with the testing. The teachers hardly have enough time to get in what they want to get in. They’re kids. “They’re kids. People forget that. They’re kids, and they need to explore their creative side.”