By SARA KINCAID, Bismarck Tribune

A rack, a desk and a pair of bookshelves define Peggy Erickson’s classroom.

Erickson, who teaches special education, shares the room in Tappen Public Schools with a second-grade teacher.

Sharing the room is better than the lunchroom, she said. There is a drawback, though, to the room: no storage.

The teachers use shelves, racks, plastic totes and file cabinets to store supplies and papers.

“There’s no actual space for teaching,” she said. “We have a lot of good materials. If we could get it out of the way, we could interact better.”

She might get her wish. She’s a finalist in the Expo/Office Depot Classroom Makeover Contest. The grand prize is a $25,000 makeover. She won $2,000 for being a finalist.

Entering contests is old hat for Erickson.

“I enter contests all the time,” she said.

She’s won small stuff here and there, and used to enter radio contests a lot. Now she’s entering a contest to win a computer lab for the school.

“Somebody’s got to win,” she said.

For her to win the classroom makeover contest, she needs the most online votes. Voting continues through March 9. People can only vote once, or the vote is disqualified. Erickson has sent an e-mail requesting people to vote. For more information, visit www.expoclassroommakeover.com/officedepot/main.taf?p2.

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)

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