Desks for Erin Bass

I’m a veteran teacher in my 28th year in education, currently in my second year teaching 4th grade at Idaho Arts Charter School in Nampa. I’ve taught across six schools in three different states, and I pride myself on being flexible and resourceful. But even with all that experience, I’ve never worked with a classroom setup as challenging as the one I currently have. My students don’t have desks.

Instead, they sit at oversized trapezoid-shaped tables designed for three students per group. These tables are bulky, inflexible, and simply not made for a modern elementary classroom—especially one with diverse learners. They dominate the room, limit movement, and offer little to no individual space for students. There’s no option to turn, shift, or separate the tables to meet different learning needs. Students can’t face the front of the room at the same time. No matter how I arrange them, at least one or two students in each group end up with their backs to the board. That’s a huge instructional barrier.

Worse still, these tables offer no personal storage space. Students have to keep supplies in multiple shared locations—tubs on the tables, seat sacks, bookshelves, and cubbies. Every time they need a binder, Chromebook, pencil, or book, they have to get up and move around the room. With nearly 30 students, that adds up to constant disruptions and a significant loss of learning time—especially for students already working to overcome academic gaps. The trapezoid tables simply don’t support the structure, focus, or flexibility my students need. Many of my students struggle with organization, attention, or sensory regulation. These tables force them into a shared space that doesn’t meet their needs and can actually make things worse. They need clear boundaries, predictable setups, and the ability to focus without constant movement or a distraction. These tables offer the opposite.

Earlier this year, I was incredibly grateful to receive 14 individual desks through a DonorsChoose project funded by Panda Cares. The impact on those students was immediate—better focus, fewer disruptions, and more ownership of their learning space. Now, I’m working toward providing desks for the rest of my class so every student can benefit from a more effective, equitable learning environment. Fourth grade is a critical year—our students are transitioning from the primary grades to a more rigorous, independent level of learning. They’re mastering foundational skills in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies while also participating in arts-integrated instruction. Every minute matters, and right now, too many of those minutes are being lost to a setup that just doesn’t work. Thank you for taking the time to consider this request. Replacing the rest of the trapezoid tables with individual desks would be truly transformative for my classroom—and for the students who work so hard every single day.