Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

KI Announces Winners of K–12 Classroom Furniture Giveaway

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/19/23

Furniture provider KI recently announced the winners of its first-ever K–12 classroom furniture giveaway, according to a press release. Entrants used the manufacturer’s Classroom Planner to design an ideal learning space. Nine finalists came from a total of almost 20,000 votes, and then three teachers received a total of $40,000 in furniture to watch their learning space become reality.

According to the news release, the winners were Dylan Zuccarello of Lawton Chiles Elementary School in Tampa, Fla.; Hattie Llewellyn of New Berlin High School in New Berlin, Ill.; and Marisa Rinkel of Norco Elementary School in Norco, Calif.

“We extend our warmest congratulations to Hattie, Marisa, and Dylan,” said KI’s vice president of education markets, Bryan Ballegeer. “Each of these educators put their students’ safety, agency, confidence, and comfort at the forefront of their designs. At KI, we care deeply at improving the incomes of students, which is why we’re excited to support these teachers by bringing their visions to reality.”

Zuccarello, a fifth-grade math and science teacher, prioritized an open layout and flexible seating to boost student comfort and collaboration, the news release reports. Llewellyn, a high-school special education teacher, chose to support adaptability and variety to help students with various levels of cognitive and physical abilities. Finally, Rinkel, a fourth-grade gifted and talented program teacher, emphasized creativity, function, and safety in her design with multi-colored, mobile furniture.

The six runners-up will receive either ten Imaginasium blips or twenty Ruckus whiteboards, depending on their preference. Winners will see their designs installed in their classrooms in coming weeks, according to the press release.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • Girl Sitting at Library Desk, Using Laptop

    How Campus Design Shapes the Finals Week Experience

    Academic performance is not just about preparation. It is closely tied to how students manage stress, maintain their energy, and shift between work and recovery modes. Much of that is influenced, directly or indirectly, by design.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.