KI awards $40k of furniture to grade school educators

This rendering of a library and media center will soon become a reality at the Mowrey Elementary School in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. The school was one of four winners in KI's furniture giveaway.

Photo By KI

GREEN BAY, Wis. — KI has named the four winners of its second annual classroom furniture giveaway and learning space design competition for K-12 educators. 

After 62,000 votes narrowed down the pool of 12 finalists, four educators will get to see their classroom or school library designs come to life with KI furniture of their choosing.

The giveaway winners are Danielle Ortiz of Bethlehem Elementary School in Taylorsville, North Carolina; Ashley Wilkirson of Northern Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky; Teresa Youssofi of Loma Verde Elementary School in Chula Vista, California; and Jennifer Smith of Mowrey Elementary School in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

Bryan Ballegeer, vice president of education markets at KI, who wrote "Five trends shaping education in 2024," offered his congratulations to the winners. "We know all teachers care deeply for their students and community, and KI is thrilled to support these four educators in making their dream spaces a reality."

Entrants in the giveaway, launched in November 2023, used KI's Classroom Planner tool to design their ideal learning space:

For her 5th-grade science and social studies classroom, Ortiz designed a space where kids can seamlessly switch between different activities, like programming robots or drawing water cycles, for an immersive learning experience.

Designed with KI's classroom planner design tool, the floorplan for the classroom of Danielle Ortiz of Bethlehem Elementary School in Taylorsville, N.C.

For her elementary school STEM lab, Wilkirson created a space where students can comfortably and easily move around the classroom to collaborate on a variety of experiments and activities.

The floorplan for the classroom of Ashley Wilkirson of Northern Elementary School in Lexington, Ky.


For her 6th-grade Spanish and English dual language immersion classroom, Youssofi designed an inclusive classroom with different zones where she can personalize experiences based on her students' communication or learning styles.

The floorplan for the classroom of Teresa Youssofi of Loma Verde Elementary School in Chula Vista, Calif.


For her elementary school library media center, Mrs. Smith created an inviting, colorful, and multifunctional space to serve as a collaborative hub for her students.

The floorplan for the library and media center for Jennifer Smith of Mowrey Elementary School in Waynesboro, Pa.


Eight runners-up will each receive 20 Ruckus whiteboards. The winners' installations will take place in the coming weeks.

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Larry Adams | Editor

Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).