Barbara Musgrave

During the summer of 2014, the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation chose my classroom (E113) at Los Alamos High School as a classroom make-over. And boy did it need it! I had a room full of really old, broken sinks and lab tables with carvings from the Jurassic Period!

I also had an asbestos floor and several species happily breeding in the old lab tables (mice and cockroaches). The workmen told me they found papers from 1968!

I did not have an adequate white board for teaching and none of the tables were movable, so last year when I took video footage to complete my National Boards, I had to borrow another room for my labs and group discussions. 

I now have a beautiful room with moveable new desks, three perfect white boards that I use every day and a designated lab area in the back of my room. Today, I opened my new blinds to let some light in and see all the trees. I truly feel more energized to teach this year (my 20th) at LAHS and know that without Joanna Gillespie and all the wonderful volunteers at LAPS Foundation, I never would have seen this room remodeled. I am forever grateful! 

LANS/LANL employees can designate their donation to go directly to the LAPS Foundation through the Employee Giving Campaign. A gift in an amount will make a difference to a teacher. See the Foundation’s website www.lapsfoundation.com to give with a credit card or mail a check to 1900 Diamond Drive, Suite 1, Los Alamos, NM 87544. The LAPS Foundation really is making a difference.