BEAVERTON, Ore. — As kids and parents struggle with at-home learning this year, a parent-teacher club in Beaverton has come up with an A+ idea.
“Jarring” is how Ric Shewell describes the 2020 school year. Many parents would agree with him. Shewell has two kids at McKay Elementary and is a member of the school’s Parent Teacher Club.
“Watching kids last spring, you know they were doing Zoom and doing school on their beds, on the floor, on the couch” explained Shewell. "And we thought, 'What could we give the kids to help them succeed this year?'”
The answer was found in a material most have somewhere around the house: cardboard. The idea is to use it to make desks for every student and create a personal space for learning at home.
“When their bodies are in that space, their minds say, 'I’m ready to learn, I’m ready for education,’” said Shewell.
The Parent Teacher Club teamed up with a local box company, then one of the engineers in the club worked with the company to come up with a design strong and safe enough for students.
They raised enough money through a GoFundMe campaign to order 350 desks. That’s a free desk for each student at McKay Elementary School. “We are actually working on the extra desks going to kids and families that are experiencing houselessness right now, so we’ll make sure that a few extra people get some desks that need them," said Shewell.
The cardboard desks are expected to be delivered to families in the coming weeks. "I think it’s going to make all the difference to help them engage and learn this year,” said Shewell.
For more information, visit mckayptc.org.