By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
For faculty and staff of Tibbets Elementary School, returning from winter break was like a scene out of television’s “Extreme Home Makeover,” except without the bus.
With some inspiration, a vision and a little help from various community donors, the teacher’s lounge at Tibbets received a face-lift over break, much to the surprise of faculty and staff.
According to visionary Jeff Auberger of Elkhorn’s Preservation Homes, whose children attend Tibbets Elementary, he saw the need for a drastic makeover shortly after fall conferences.
When he shot down to the teacher’s lounge to pick up some food his wife Shelley, who is the vice-president of the school’s parent-teacher association (PTA), had made for the teachers, he was astounded.
“I walked in the room and I said, is this the teacher’s lounge,” he said. “When I saw it, it was just simply unacceptable.”
Principal Greg Wells said he remembers exactly where he was standing, just outside the school’s library, when Auberger first came to him about the teacher’s lounge.
“I saw him coming back, and I could see it in his face,” he said.
Auberger described the previous state of the break room as being utilitarian at best, cluttered with copiers and printers, a soda machine, mismatched tables and chairs, and a lack of cabinets and counter space.
“It was just a hodge-podge and it looked like something from 1950 or 1960 that hadn’t been dealt with since,” he said. “They weren’t getting that opportunity to decompress.”
“My goal was to create a space that would be comfortable, would be soothing, that would allow them to decompress and allow them to have some great interaction with their fellow teachers in a nice environment,” Auberger said.
Being in the business of renovations and thinking the school’s faculty and staff deserved better, Auberger
said he was confident it was something he could make happen. He said he got his designers over to the school to take a look at the lounge and began to put together ideas to present to the PTA.
With excitement brewing among PTA members, Auberger, along with numerous other volunteers, came together to complete the project over break, unbeknownst to the school’s faculty and staff.
Principal Greg Wells said over break, the group of volunteers got into what they called the ‘Lounge Extreme Makeover,’ tearing it apart, moving just about everything they could, and completely redesigning the room.
Volunteers worked hard to replace old furniture, including tables and chairs, repaint the walls, rewire electricity, replace ceiling tiles and install new cabinetry, counters and shelving units.
Wells noted volunteers worked hard to finish the project before the end of break as a way to honor the hard-working educators who work everyday to shape the students that are the future of this community.
“Isn’t it something,” he said.
Returning from break, staff found the door shut with a ribbon on it, wrapped up as gift, much to their surprise.
While Wells admits it can be difficult to keep a project like this secret from staff, he said he believes the vast
majority of staff were completely surprised upon their return.
Auberger said he swung by the school last week, to stop in for lunch with his kids, and was thrilled to see the lounge full of teachers who he understood weren’t really using it before the renovations.
According to Auberger, previously, many of the teachers were eating in their own rooms because they were disgusted by the space, or didn’t want to sit there because their classrooms were nicer.
“I walked in on probably 12 teachers or staffers in there having lunch, laughing and joking,” he said. “It was perfect, it was exactly what we had hoped would happen with this space.”
Wells said having the new space has had an impact on his staff, giving them a place to relax, rejuvenate and recharge during the day.
“To go from a place that was institutionalized and unsettling, an old kind of spent break room to this, it’s been amazing,” he said. “Some of the staff call it the VIP Lounge.”
With the community being supportive of his business ventures over the years, Auberger said it’s great to be able to give a little back to the community in this fashion.
“I’m really glad we were able to do something like this that would have such a great impact,” he said.
Wells said he’s thankful for Auberger’s efforts, as he saw a need and rather than brushing it off for someone else to take care of it, he took charge and made it happen.
He got by with a little help from his friends
While Auberger provided the vision for the project, he noted it was important to recognize the numerous area businesses and people who donated money, materials and time to turn the project into a reality.
First and foremost, he noted USG, a dropped-ceiling tile manufacturer in Walworth, which donated new tiles and cross members for the ceiling. According to Auberger, the company even went so far as to engrave and paint the school’s logo into one of the tiles.
He said Home Depot of Lake Geneva provided helpful discounts to the cabinetry put in during the renovations and a donation from Whitewater’s Home Lumber helped to create a new sense of organization with shelving units.
Jackson’s Do it Best Hardware of Elkhorn provided miscellaneous brackets and hardware that was needed. The master electrician at Troy Electric of East Troy donated his time to complete electrical work and Breaker Electric donated 11 L.E.D. recessed light fixtures. Sherwin Williams of Lake Geneva provided all of the paint for the project.
Auberger noted he also had wonderful helpers over the course of the project, and his fear of having to employ his own staff never became a reality. Auberger said he’s thankful for the help of not only his wife and company, but also Amy and Travis Henry, Tom Griffin, a handyman by trade, and Wells and his son, who did much of the demolition.
Wells said staff and faculty are incredibly grateful of the numerous businesses and individuals who donated to the project.
