Operation Round Up: Foundation Grant Covers Cost of Classroom Tables & Chairs

Slocomb High School teacher Tiffany Tolley wanted classroom furniture that allowed her students to work together on chemistry, physical science and biology projects. The individual desks that filled her classroom were just not conducive to collaborative work.

“They were wooden top desks, which is not usually good for using glassware and chemicals and things like that,” Tolley says. “I had 30 of them because that’s my largest class, and the kids would bump them and stuff would fall, and it just wasn’t very easy for them to work collaboratively.”

Tolley applied for a grant from the Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s (WEC) Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation, a program funded by members who voluntarily round up their monthly electric bills to the next dollar. Tolley’s application was approved, and the $5,255.76 grant refurnished the Slocomb classroom where Tolley teaches 11th and 10th graders.

Recently, members of the Wiregrass Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees, WEC staff, and members of the Operation Round Up Foundation Board visited Tolley’s classroom for a check presentation.

The new black tables with chairs allow students to gather around a project and create more floor space for foot traffic. Tolley says the new furniture in the classroom made an impression on students.

“It just makes it look nicer,” Tolley says. “That helps the kids feel like they want to take initiative. They want to learn when they are in a good space, in a good environment, and it’s easier for them to learn.”

The new tables are more comfortable for students to do hands-on activities and science projects in groups, Tolley says. The Slocomb High School ag class assembled the furniture, and Tolley says her students were as excited as she was.

“When you get 100 teenagers excited over something, it’s kind of a big deal,” Tolley says.