St. Lucie West K–8 is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $2,500 Working Together for Success grant from the Education Foundation of St. Lucie County. This generous funding supports an innovative schoolwide initiative to strengthen math instruction in grades 3–8 through the implementation of vertical whiteboard stations, a key strategy from Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms framework.
The purpose of the Working Together for Success grant program is to fund creative, high-impact projects that elevate teaching quality and improve classroom instruction. Thanks to the Education Foundation’s commitment to supporting educators, SLWK-8 was able to bring this vision to life on a large scale.
With the support of school and district staff, the initiative resulted in the installation of 120 vertical whiteboards, complete with magnets, magnetic erasers, and markers, across 24 math classrooms. Each classroom received 4 to 6 whiteboard stations, creating dynamic spaces for collaboration and problem-solving.
These whiteboards are now used frequently by approximately 1,200 students in grades 3–8. Teachers report that the stations have transformed classroom engagement by shifting mathematical thinking and discussion from the teacher to the students. Small groups work together to solve problems, defend their reasoning, and learn from one another, while teachers can easily monitor progress and provide targeted support. As SLWK-8 heads into testing season, the impact on student achievement is already evident.
Even the cardboard packaging from the whiteboards found new life on campus. In a display of SLWK-8 ingenuity, the materials were repurposed by art and STEM teachers for hands-on projects, extending the impact of the grant beyond math classrooms.
SLWK-8 extends its sincere appreciation to Jackie Wolfe, Thom Jones, and the Education Foundation of St. Lucie County for their generous support of this project. Additional thanks go to Assistant Principal Tari Archer and Principal Joseph Lezeau for their leadership throughout the process, as well as Bookkeeper Amanda Marti for managing purchasing and logistics. The school also recognizes the SLWK-8 maintenance team for coordinating distribution, the SLPS carpentry team for completing installation, and the entire SLWK-8 math department for their flexibility and collaboration in preparing classrooms. Finally, special appreciation is extended to Teacher of the Year, Mr. Tyler Evans, for leading the grant writing, reporting, planning, distribution, and installation efforts that brought this project to life.
