Pine View Elementary Wins $25,000 Art Room Makeover

When a package from the Bounty paper towel company arrived at Pine View Elementary School, no one thought to open it right away.

Then Principal Judy Cosh received a telephone call asking about the package. Since it was sitting right on her desk, she opened it and began reading.

“Is this real,” she asked the caller.

The letter had been sent by Bounty, a Proctor & Gamble company, to let Cosh know that her school had won a $25,000 art room makeover as part of the TeacherWishList.com promotion. That website, sponsored by Bounty, enables teachers across the country to publish their classroom wish lists. Parents and others can then visit the site to see what local teachers might need to help them do their jobs better.

In celebration of the website’s launch this year, the makeover promotion was held. To qualify for entry into the drawing, a school had to have at least five teachers create wish lists – Pine View had six teachers sign up.

Thanks to those six teachers, Pine View will receive a visit from HGTV’s Cortney and Robert Novogratz sometime in December. The couple star on “Home by Novogratz,” a makeover show that challenges the husband-and-wife team to create interesting designs in unique spaces.

“It is just going to be spectacular,” Cosh said of the impending visit and makeover.

Jill Hallauer, Pine View’s art teacher, cannot wait for the couple’s visit. She, like Cosh, was in shock when she heard news of the school’s win in the contest.

“Are you kidding me,” she said. “I was in disbelief.”

While Pine View’s art room is functional, the space is a challenging one that doesn't necessarily inspire creativity, both Cosh and Hallauer said. With its white block walls and classroom feel, the space just isn’t as inspiring as Hallauer would like it to be.

That, she hopes, the Novogratzes will be able to remedy.

Hallauer would like to see lots of color added to the room along with technological upgrades, such as a projector, that would enable her to teach her students more effectively.

“I see 700 kids a week,” Hallauer said. “I’m asking for things we can use that will (last). I would love to see lots of paint and real artwork.”

A date for the Novogratz visit hasn’t been scheduled just yet. Cosh said they will likely visit in December and spend five days on the campus.