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The recently redecorated teachers lounge at Pony Express Elementary School in Eagle Mountain is pictured in May 2025.

Courtesy Walmart

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Volunteers from the Walmart Supercenter in South Jordan pose for a photo during a project to make over the teachers lounge at Pony Express Elementary School in Eagle Mountain in May 2025.

Courtesy Walmart

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Volunteers from the Walmart Supercenter in South Jordan work to make over the teachers lounge at Pony Express Elementary School in Eagle Mountain in May 2025.

Courtesy Walmart

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Volunteers from the Walmart Supercenter in South Jordan work to make over the teachers lounge at Pony Express Elementary School in Eagle Mountain in May 2025.

Courtesy Walmart

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Volunteers from the Walmart Supercenter in South Jordan prepare to work on a makeover of the teachers lounge at Pony Express Elementary School in Eagle Mountain in May 2025.

Courtesy Walmart

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When school starts back next week, teachers at one elementary school in Eagle Mountain will have a newly renovated space for rest and relaxation.

At the end of last school year, Pony Express Elementary School received a $5,000 makeover for its teachers lounge as part of a national program sponsored by Crayola and Walmart.

The Eagle Mountain school was chosen among 23 others across the country to be awarded through Crayola’s Creative Teachers Sweepstakes after participating in Crayola Creativity Week.

Former Assistant Principal Courtney Knight said she hadn’t heard of such a contest but was excited when she found out Tricia Mears, a third grade teacher at the school, had entered it and Pony Express Elementary had actually won.

“I was really grateful that a contest like this existed, something that would give directly to teachers,” Knight said. “Often, these kinds of contests are things like classroom supplies — which are awesome, but not something just for the teacher.”

Crayola Creativity Week, which happens annually in January, is an initiative that provides schools, families and libraries with inspiring and interactive content that promotes creative learning.

Over 13 million students participated in the program this year.

In addition to the teachers lounge makeover, the school also received $3,000 in Walmart gift cards, $1,000 in gift cards for teachers and $1,000 in Crayola art supplies.

According to a Walmart press release, more than a dozen volunteers from Walmart’s Supercenter in South Jordan took part in the effort to bring the teachers lounge to life with furnishings and items purchased with the donated gift cards.

Knight said she and Mears sought out professional help from another teacher in the school, Katherine Rees, who has a background in interior design, to help come up with ideas to redecorate the space.

“We were limited by the constraint of having to purchase everything through Walmart, but she did a fantastic job of using the budget to the maximum effect,” Knight said of Rees. “She has such a good eye for putting things together and we love what she came up with.”

According to the Walmart release, the lounge was designed with a blend of style, comfort and functionality to create an inspiring space where teachers can unwind and recharge, and that celebrates the influence they have on students.

Knight said a nicely decorated faculty space that breeds comfort can add a boost of morale for educators — meaning they are more likely to take advantage of it.

“‘I’ve been in schools with really terrible faculty rooms and no one uses it, other than to put their food in the fridge and to use the microwave,” she said. “Teachers will usually eat in their rooms. It really affects the culture of the school, especially relationships with other teachers who are not on your team. When the faculty really know and care about each other, it improves things for everyone in the building — including students.”

Teachers at Pony Express Elementary were surprised with the makeover at the end of May, just as the school year was coming to an end.

Knight was recently named the new assistant principal at Orchard Elementary School in Orem, so while she won’t have a chance to use the revitalized lounge at her former school, she feels the gesture from Walmart and Crayola sends an uplifting message to all educators everywhere.

“I think it just feels nice that there are people outside of education that appreciate what we do and that want to give back,” she told the Daily Herald. “When the teachers see the updated faculty room, it’s a reminder of that. So it’s much more than just a nicely decorated room.”

2025 marked the second year of the Crayola/Walmart partnership for the teachers lounge program. The initiative has awarded more than $120,000 to participating schools across the country thus far.

Ironically, the major retailer’s relationship with Eagle Mountain is only poised to strengthen, as the city’s first Walmart Supercenter is anticipated to open in the coming weeks.