A teacher makeover project focused on re-sparking joy for teachers.
Mikki McMillion binge-watched every episode of Queer Eye and kept thinking, “What if someone did this for teachers — not to change how things look on the surface, but to strengthen how they teach?”
That question became The Great Teacher Power-Up, a teacher makeover project designed to re-spark joy for teachers by offering free, targeted support through the lens of empowerment, empathy, and joy.
What is The Great Teacher Power-Up?
The Great Teacher Power-Up is a community-supported teacher makeover project that concentrates on the whole teacher, not just aesthetics. It’s not about fixing teachers or making things look perfect. It’s about honoring the complexity of teaching, documenting the journey honestly, and inviting communities to show up for the teachers they rely on every day.
The Power-Up focuses on four interconnected areas:
- Learning, Curriculum, & Practices
- Community Connections
- Wellness
- Design of the Learning Space
At the heart of our project is one simple belief:
Teachers already bring incredible gifts to their work. Sometimes, they just need space, support, and trust to rediscover those gifts.
The Power-Up team brings decades of classroom, coaching, and advocacy experience:
- Mikki McMillion: 30-year veteran teacher and director of student well-being (California)
- Lauren Smith, Middle Warrior: Learning coach and consultant who taught K-12 for 15 years (New Hampshire)
- Kat Clark, Teachers in Their Power: Teacher advocate who worked in four schools and on Apple’s worldwide education team (Wisconsin)
Together, our team self-funded this project and partnered with the school’s local businesses and community members to make it possible.
Choosing the teachers: Jess & Amy in New Hampshire
We opened up an application process and chose two young teachers in New Hampshire: Jess Georato Gibb and Amy Gauthier.
When Jess started the previous year, she was the only fourth grade teacher at Ellis School. She worked hard to provide her students with what they needed. Once Amy came on board, they partnered to make their Fremont School District classrooms the best they could be.
The two of them exemplify what education looks like each and every day in a public school. However, even the strongest teaching teams face challenges; their students really didn’t like to write. Jess and Amy weren’t sure how to approach building a writing curriculum that would engage their students. Once we identified that writing was the area they needed the most help with, we met with them weekly over Zoom for several months.
A project-based learning experience and a classroom makeover
Together, we leaned into project-based learning and designed a fourth grade business convention, an experience where writing and themes from ELA could trickle into social studies and science. Lauren and Mikki provided weekly coaching, focusing not only on the curriculum but on Jess and Amy as teachers.
At the same time, we reviewed the classroom spaces on Zoom and considered what we could improve. Jess and Amy had made their classrooms work with the space they had: anchor charts wherever they could find wall space; small group instruction without the furniture they needed. We planned a mini classroom transformation.
Once we arrived, we unboxed everything we’d brought in: rainbow-shaped tables with stools, mobile whiteboards to create more wall space, rugs, books, and comfy furniture. We wanted to create distinct learning spaces, almost like rooms within the room.
But what mattered most was that everything connected back to the writing curriculum. The new spaces and rainbow-shaped tables were great for small group writing, and as Amy said, “The little things made the biggest change” in their day to day experience.
Community support for teachers, in action
While Lauren and Mikki were coaching Jess and Amy and developing the curriculum, I (Kat) focused on the Community Connections and Wellness aspects of the project.
In addition to what the three of us paid out of pocket, we contacted dozens of local businesses. Donations included self-care experiences and food for teachers and staff, in addition to practical classroom items like books and rugs.
We hosted lunch for the entire staff, courtesy of the pizza place across the street, and we created space in the faculty lounge for the team to reflect and show gratitude for one another.
The ripple effect
One month after our visit to Ellis School, students were excited to invite family and friends to their business convention and showcase all of their ideas. They wrote persuasive, structured presentations and crafted detailed displays — and had so much fun that they hardly realized they were writing.
This isn’t a quick-fix story. It probably won’t go viral.
But for two teachers in New Hampshire, everything changed.
Thank you to the businesses and organizations that contributed to the project with us!
Your generous gifts helped make this experience possible.
Donation of classroom rugs:
- Company C, with special thanks to Jody Johnson | New Hampshire
Donation of fourth grade books:
- Water Street Bookstore, with special thanks to Jill Sweeney-Bosa | New Hampshire
Donation of pizza lunch for the entire staff of Ellis School:
- Fremont Pizzeria & Restaurant, with special thanks to Nick Kakouris | New Hampshire
Donation of gifts and experiences for teacher wellness and inspiration:
- The Anchor & Bird, with special thanks to Dani K | Etsy
- Children’s Dentistry, with special thanks to Dr. Tim | New Hampshire
- Lovebirds Craft Donuts & Coffee | New Hampshire & Maine
- Lucas Salon | New Hampshire
- Modern Classrooms Project, with special thanks to Robert Barnett | National
- Plymouth Soapworks | New Hampshire
- VAIN Medi Spa, with special thanks to Kate Devereaux | Massachusetts
