WCTV Community Classroom: Haley Vann, Taylor County Primary School
Find links to Vann’s Community Classroom donation page throughout this story.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Haley Vann, a first-grade teacher at Taylor County Primary School, is hoping to provide her students with fun, flexible seating via DonorsChoose.
This is Vann’s first year teaching.
“I wasn’t blessed with a veteran’s classroom,” she said. “So, my classroom didn’t have anything.”
Vann said she has an idea for alternative seating over the hardback desk chairs her students currently use: beanbag chairs!
“I was like, ‘Oh I’m just going to get a couple. I don’t really know if they’ll be into them,’ but they love them!” she said.
Now, she needs more, but she can’t keep buying them herself.
Vann hopes donations through DonorsChoose can help her get more bean bag chairs, stools and rugs. She lets her first graders use the flexible seating to sit anywhere they want in the classroom on Fridays during their spelling tests.
“When my kids are able to kind of express themselves, even if it’s just sitting in a fun chair, they can really focus on what they’re doing. They’re comfortable. They’re in their little zone. They’re in their own space. They show a lot of achievement and success,” Vann said.
Vann said she would also like to get rocking chairs and wobble stools, all of which students can use during center rotations and as rewards.
The thought of donors helping this rookie teacher achieve her goal makes Vann feel grateful.
“It makes you feel really good about what you’re doing and makes you realize that what you are doing is important and people do see that,” Vann said. “In our profession, sometimes it can be a little rocky, but to see that other people notice what you’re doing is very heartwarming for sure.”
Vann said she sometimes lets students sit in her teacher’s chair as a reward.
If you’d like to help more of her students get flexible seating, follow this link.
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