The Cloud Chamber: Help me create my new classroom

Tanya Reichard Voorhees is organizing this fundraiser.

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I am currently a middle-school teacher in the rural south. My name is Tanya Voorhees, and I’ve been teaching on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1999.

It's mid-summer break. In exactly one month, I will return to "the trenches." I am well-rested, somewhat recuperated, and ready to introspect about the past school year and to put forth my feelings about the upcoming year as I begin to grind the gears towards it. I have come up with a plan to create a fantastic learning environment for my students. But I will need help to do so. I am not speaking as a representative of my school or district, but as a veteran teaching professional looking to gather personal tools for my trade.

I started last year, the year of Covid, fully expecting (no exaggeration) to not live through it. I became terrified about going back to school, not because I was afraid to die. I teach every day fully ready to put my own body between an active shooter and my students. I was more in terror of bringing home Covid and killing my elderly mom, (who I care for in my home) or my husband, John. Despite mask mandates, the apprehension was rough.

So, I went forward into "The Year Unprecedented," prepared for it to possibly be my last. It was hard. It was downright insane most of the time. I had to teach both virtual and in-person classes. There were exposure scares and quarantines in the back bedroom where I lay isolated, regretting my life choices. There were tears on the way to work; there were panic attacks during planning time.

But, thanks to another group of absolutely amazing students, my wonderful Gifted (in every way) co-teachers, and an administration that seemed to have faith in me, WE ALL SURVIVED. I think my students still actually came away learning something this past year, despite all the changes to routine out of precaution and social distancing mandates. I am proud of this. I am likewise proud of our two local high school's graduating classes this year. These high schools had star-studded senior classes this year, and interspersed among the numbers were members of one of the all-time-best and certainly most memorable 7th and 8th grade gifted classes I've ever had. Both valedictorians and salutorians from these high schools came through my program in the 7th and 8th grade.

It meant so much to see them all achieve so much and under the most difficult of circumstances. I feel like I contributed, in my tiny way, to their awesomeness and resilience. I just can't help but feel good about that. I feel inspired. I feel validated that, yes, what I do matters.

So, I'm going into this upcoming year more positive than I have felt in a long time. Not just because Covid is over (it most definitely is NOT,) but more because I know now, beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm a resilient teacher. I know I can help contribute to students finding and reaching their utmost potential. It is hard to connect the dots, especially for administrators, from what I do in my classroom to long-term outcomes. If all that is focused upon are test scores, what I do with my students might not show a big, noticeable, direct effect. But long-term, a far ways out from our time together, in every student I've kept in contact with, I can see growth-of-person. I see depth of character. I see problem-solvers who think critically about their world. I see young adults pursuing medical degrees, or military careers, or artistic endeavors, or pursuits in the humanities, and almost all actually FIGHTING for what they believe in, even when those beliefs are different from mine.

And that's what it's all about. That's what teaching is and should be about... forming real human bonds, providing captivating and memorable experiences in a safe space, ultimately producing competent, productive, hopeful human beings capable of pursuing their own happiness. And sometimes that correlates with higher test scores, and sometimes it just does NOT.

But, I digress, so here is the point.

Here is why I am telling you all this...

I am also going into next year recharged and hopeful because I am finally being moved from portable buildings into the main school building. This is a big and exciting upcoming change that has also recharged my zest and zeal for teaching. But this is where I need your help. I have been way out behind the school in a "temporary building/trailer" for almost a decade. I have walked through cold and heat and rain and wind every hour to escort my classes to and from the main building. I walked one nine weeks with a torn tendon and my leg in a boot. I slipped at least 3 times over the years (never got hurt, thankfully.) I dealt with a horrible case of vandalism to the tune of thousands of dollars (classroom furthest from security cameras, of course, and a particle board door frame that was easily popped with a crow bar.) Over time, the building started to deteriorate around me. The wood by my storage closet started to bend scarily when tread upon, and my roof started to leak.

But magic happened in that room, despite being less-than-ideal. It was cluttered and eclectic. Nothing matched. There were bins and stacks of materials everywhere. The environment grew organically over the years as I grew and learned as a teacher. I was resourceful, applied for grants, won awards, and gathered quite a few resources to give my kids the best experiences and to give them the materials to have an experience unlike any other in the entire school. I collected many things. The room became a cross between a nest, a mad-scientist's laboratory, a wizard's chamber, and an old book store run by a crazy cat lady. It backed right up to a soccer field ringed by a pine forest. We flew kites there, launched trebuchets, did experiments with sunlight, and read our novels on blankets under pine-tree shade.

I made the most of it. I loved what I did despite where I had to do it, and so did my students.

And now that environment finally gets to change. A new school has been built in our region designed to eliminate the over-crowding problem at my school. This means there will be more room available in the main building and the portables can finally go! I was initially assigned, at the end of May, to what was my dream come true... I would be moving to one of the extra science labs!! It had cabinets built into the walls and sinks with running water for STEM projects with hydraulics and for easy clean-up of art projects! I was SO EXCITED.

But, as is often the case in education, things have to be decided upon and changed to adapt to an ever-changing student population. Numbers wax and wane per grade level every year. Our school's 5th grade is now being moved to the middle school side of the school... and the science lab was given, rightfully, to the 5th-grade science teacher. A tested subject should always get priority. She was pleased as punch, and I am so genuinely happy for her!

I did become immediately concerned for myself, however. I went in and looked closely at my new room assignment. It is larger than my old classroom in the portables! However, it has no 5 x 6-foot storage closet like my portable did. It has no cabinets like the science lab does. I have a problem to solve. Where do I put my stuff?

I have the materials for a full photography studio with lighting and backdrops. I have a workbench with tools for constructing real projects. I have a great many art supplies, like gallon-paint bottles and easels. I have a massive library of resource books that I have cataloged in order to share with my co-teachers as they also work to serve the special needs of our school’s intellectually gifted students.

I played around a bit with some floor-planning 3-D rendering software, and I feel like I have landed on a pretty awesome solution. This is my chance to start fresh, go in organized, and have a space for everything and to create flexible, delineated spaces for many of my students’ all-time favorite units like Photography, Debate, The Principles of Design, and Timekeeping. I put a lot of thought and time into thinking about this.

I am calling it "The Cloud Chamber" because of the ideas of cloud computing, head-in-the-clouds, brainstorming, silver linings, etc. I was inspired by a trip to an exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and I plan to make lights like these from LED strips and Chinese paper lanterns covered with poly-fill to hang over the large table. Something like you see below.

The thing is, it is going to take a pretty penny (at least to me) to get this set up. The school can only provide so much, and I will gladly utilize everything I am given to its utmost with gratefulness. However, what I can be given is never enough and can never be enough because there is just not enough to go around in the public school system. I have always run Donor's Choose and GoFundMe projects every year to supply myself with the many consumable materials that I need to run these grand-scale, hands-on projects in STEM, art, and community service.

I have relied on the generosity of my friends and on the charitable donations of small businesses to always gather enough of what I need to make things happen. I have always had to spend much of my own money in addition to what I manage to raise every year. But I have always, with help, made things happen.

I'm hoping I can do this again! Time is of the essence because, here in Mississippi, we start the school year VERY early. I report back on August 2 and will have students at my door on August 5. I have to get cabinets and other furniture ordered (the school is getting me three big ones!!) so it can all get here in time for the first week of August when school starts here AND give me time to assemble these things all by myself (which certainly saves a lot of money).

I really have a deep desire to make my vision a reality for this classroom. I chose to go through GoFundMe because I want these materials to be MINE as personal professional tools like a mechanic has his tool chest or a hairstylist has their own gear. Though I have won many things for my ideas and projects through awards and grants that ultimately belong to the school or district, any materials granted for my use in that way can also be assigned at random to other teachers that might be deemed “more in need" as they are not and never were "mine". I am asking for personal help, not help for my school or district. I am putting wheels on everything that is mine so that if I am reassigned to another classroom in an administrative shuffle, I can re-create this specialized learning environment in any of our school's standard classrooms, or, if something unexpected happens, they can travel with me to any school I work in.

I have 7 years of my career left at minimum... 11 years to make it to full retirement at 65 which is my goal. It would be SO AWESOME to be able to serve those years in a classroom environment that I have specifically tailored to the specific way I teach and the specialized needs of the way gifted learners function best... in big groups or small groups. I expect these materials to last me to the finish line!! And if they are in good enough shape when I am done, I plan to donate the whole caboodle to a new and upcoming teacher-of-the-gifted when the time comes.

These are my thoughts and grandiose plans. If you made it to the end of this very long pitch, I thank you for any help you can send my way.

I am determined to do this, even if I have to over-extend my credit cards to do it!! I already still owe, after 21 years, a massive amount for my student loans. Teaching does not provide a salary adequate for the amount of education required to do it, nor for the supplies needed to do it effectively and efficiently. :) This is the reason I am asking for help. Any help would be greatly and deeply appreciated!!!!!

In the name of accountability, I have listed below the links to many of the main things I plan to purchase with the funds I raise. Not included in this list are some manipulatives and teaching aides that I am still pricing.

I plan to buy several new thinking games like Blokus, several Perplexus balls, a classroom set of Spirograph kits, a new set of Snap Circuits with storage, and several Newton's cradles for experiments. I have also left room in the budget to cover shipping and handling.

Again, I thank you so much for reading all of this and for helping me if you can. Tiny bits of money add up quickly.

1. RiverRidge Kids 6-Cubby 3-Shelf Corner Cabinet

TV stand for video game design and storage $139.00

2. Scholar Craft FS949TR3060 Trapezoid High Pressure Laminate Activity Table 30 W x 60

Main seating. Will add these to the ends of existing tables to make a huge conference-style table 2@

$114.00 =$230.00

3. Suncast 50 Gallon Outdoor Resin Deck Storage Box

Portfolio storage inside and seating $90.00

4. Briscoe Modern Bookcase

To provide visual interest and display best 3-D work 2@$170.00= $340

5. Better Homes and Gardens 4-Cube Organizer Storage Bench, White

Seating and storage for Year-long book project 2@$100= $200