Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Campus received a teachers’ lounge makeover courtesy of Crayola and Walmart.
The kindergarten-through-second grade campus at 700 S. Main St. was selected as one of 12 winning schools in the nationwide Crayola Creativity Week’s Creative Teachers Sweepstakes. Crayola provided the school with $3,000 in Walmart gift cards to purchase items for the makeover and an additional $1,000 in art supplies.
Walmart contributed $1,000 in gift cards for teachers to purchase additional items for the lounge.
“One thing I’ve done, I’ve actually walked around to each one of these classrooms and observed every teacher teach,” said first grade teacher Melanie Madkin, who registered the campus for the contest. “They go really hard in class for these students. I mean, their feet are actually on the gas and they just make sure these scholars receive all the knowledge they need to be successful citizens. So, what made me so happy to receive this blessing, or this makeover, is that they deserve it. Not just the teachers, the staff. They deserve a place to relax. To know this lounge is catered to them, not just one specific teacher, it’s a teachers’ lounge. So, that’s why I am so excited about the teachers’ lounge.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Walmart store manager Essica Clifton presented a giant $1,000 check to the Friendship teachers.
“I want to thank Melanie, Principal Ashley Williams and the other school officials for letting Walmart be a part of your Crayola Teacher Makeover event,” Clifton said. “I have associates whose children attend this academy, and it was a pleasure to come out and celebrate and appreciate the teachers by helping transform their lounge into a place of relaxation between classes.”
Teacher Chino Fifer said the makeover was a great investment and great acknowledgment of the work teachers do daily.
“They have showed out in the teachers’ lounge,” said Krystal Cosen, a first-grade English language arts teacher at Friendship-Downtown. “It just seems welcoming and inviting. The setup, the containers, it’s just beautiful.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly indicated the amounts contributed by both Walmart and Crayola.
Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Campus teachers accept a $1,000 check from Walmart at the school lobby Thursday, May 9, 2024. From left: Principal Ashley Williams, Walmart store manager Essica Clifton, Walmart team lead Brittany Lowden, teachers Melanie Madkin and Krystal Cosen. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)