Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston has been very active in the Tampa Bay community. On October 1, as a part of his Dream Forever Foundation, he helped unveil a new state-of-the-art technology center, the Dream Room at Twin Lakes Elementary School.
The Dream Room accommodates more than 30 students and was created by NorvaNivel, an educational furniture company that designs innovative, moveable furniture, which is meant to help create an agile learning environment for students and teachers. At Twin Lakes Elementary, students will now be able to rearrange their own space and transform it into a different learning setting in just seconds.
According to Twin Lakes Principal Kilsys Batista, when the kids saw the Dream Room for the first time, it was like kids were opening up their presents on Christmas morning.
“Their reaction was ‘Oh my goodness, is this really for me?’ Yes, this is really for you, this is your space, your room for you to build things, to create and use technology,” said Batista.
NorvaNivel’s furniture is designed to facilitate contemporary teaching and empower students to build the skills needed for the future. Students who are visual or hands-on learners can both essentially thrive through the use of the lightweight and mobile furniture, such as contemporary tables, stools, bookcases, caddies and seats. The students were also provided with iPads, LEGO Robotics, projectors, 3D printers and much more to encourage high-level learning, exploration and creativity.
“Having people outside of our school invest in our students, in our future, in their learning, is very inspiring and motivating,” said Batista. “Our students were very much overwhelmed by knowing that here we had Jameis Winston investing in their dream, in their future. We are truly lucky.”
The Twin Lakes Dream Room was made possible by Winston and NorvaNivel, and it was created to encourage students at title 1 schools to expand their personal learning opportunities and provide career exploration.
According to the website, the mission of Winston’s Dream Forever Foundation is to impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities and resources to develop and achieve their dreams.
For more information about Winston’s Dream Forever Foundation, visit JameisWinston3.org.
