DOWAGIAC — Three Dowagiac classrooms recently got a makeover, thanks to a regional nonprofit foundation. 

Over the summer, Lewis Cass Intermediate School District and the Cass County Great Start Readiness Program were awarded a $17,500 grant from the Pokagon Fund to support the purchase of new equipment for three GSRP classrooms at Justus Gage and Patrick Hamilton elementary schools in Dowagiac. Split between the three classes, the grant and funds from Lewis Cass ISD were used to purchase new tables and chairs, play equipment and building blocks, and more. Within the last weeks, the furniture and equipment have been arriving, and officials with GSRP said the new additions have added to the classrooms and assisted in learning.

“We were so grateful to the Pokagon Fund for this grant,” said Chris Whitmire, director of early childhood education for Lewis Cass ISD. “Our budget is very lean. We do not have excess in our budget for any equipment at all. These classrooms really haven’t received a lot of new equipment in almost 20 years. … This new equipment will pretty much last a lifetime.”

As the GSRP program is a preschool program designed for 4-year-old children with factors that may place them at risk of educational failure, the equipment purchased through the grant was designed by New York-based company Community Playthings to fit 4-year-olds.

“The rationale was to provide proper equipment that fits the physiology of the children that aids in their learning,” Whitmire said. “So, if we are going to ask them to write, we need to provide tables and chairs that fit their bodies. The overall goal is for them to have better places to write, to read, to play and to be able to support their bodies well.”

Monday morning, students with GSRP at Justus Gage Elementary students wandered around their classrooms, playing with the new equipment. One group played a round of musical chairs with their new chairs, which are smaller than their old ones to fit a 4-year-old body better. In a classroom across the hall, students built cities with their new wooden blocks, while others played with the new “kitchenette” where they could pretend to prepare a meal or make a cup of tea.

“The kids really seem to enjoy [the new equipment],” said GSRP teacher Debra Luthringer.

“They are learning. They are playing. They are engaging,” Whitmire added.

Justus Gage Elementary Principal Bryan Henry also said he was grateful for the Pokagon Fund equipment, as he believes it will help prepare GSRP students for kindergarten.

“We are excited about this opportunity and this partnership [with GSRP and the Pokagon Fund],” he said. “We are happy for this classroom makeover. The new items and seating arrangements have been very beneficial for our instructional delivery and for our students’ happiness.”

As the students get used to the new equipment in the Dowagiac GSRP classrooms, Whitmire said she hopes that it will continue to aid student learning and happiness for years to come.