KI Awards $40,000 of Furniture to Winning Educators in Second Annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway

February 2, 2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. (February 2) -- KI is thrilled to announce 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 lucky 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.

"We offer our sincere congratulations to Danielle, Ashley, Teresa, and Jennifer," said Bryan Ballegeer, vice president of education markets at KI. "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 used KI's Classroom Planner tool to design their ideal learning space:

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

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

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

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.

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

About KI

KI manufactures innovative furniture and architectural wall system solutions for education, healthcare, government and corporate markets. The employee-owned company is headquartered in Green Bay, Wis. and operates sales offices and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe. KI tailors products and service solutions to the specific needs of each customer through its unique design and manufacturing philosophy. For more information, visit ki.com.