Teachers Transform School Into Hogwarts and Students Love it

By
Tommy L
-
Image via thatravenclawteacher/Instagram

Jacy Douglas is a middle school English teacher at Parkside School in rural Cullman County, Alabama. Last year, she and co-worker decided to decorate their classrooms like Hogwarts houses from Harry Potter movie.

Their students loved it so they decided to take a step further and started to theme their whole hallway this year. They hired a local artist to paint murals with 3D elements giving their students fully immersive experience.

Other than the murals, the makeover has been done by just the two of them, using inexpensive materials and donated items. Since the transformation, they noticed a significant decrease in student discipline referrals and a huge interest among their students in reading books.

The project was done entirely with funds raised by their “5K race,” and out of teachers’ own money. Their principal has also been very supportive on this project. Scroll down to see the amazing transformation of the school into Hogwarts.

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Last year was all about classrooms. This year we are theming the hallway with entrances for all four houses. My fabulous coworker Tracey Jones has done a lot of heavy lifting (literally) to help make each classroom’s entrance fit the #Hogwarts house it represents. 🏰 Math is done in the #Slytherin dungeon, English and reading in the cozy #Ravenclaw common room, science in Hagrid’s #gryffindor Hut with all kinds of magical creatures, and #Hufflepuffs are most welcome in history. 🚂 🤓⚡️ We will be finished with the hall by August 1. #classroomtransformation #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #middleschoolteacher #2ndaryela #harrypotterclassroom #hogwartstheme #hallwaytransformation #schoolhall #harrypottertheme #workinprogress #hpteacherfollowloop

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Here’s one of the most controversial elements in our #Hogwarts inspired classrooms at @parksidejrhigh . ⚡️🤓🐍 I started a shelf of #Horcruxes in my room and decided I had to have #Nagini to make my collection complete. (Of course, I don’t have Harry in my Horcrux collection, but that’s ok.) Anyway, we decided to make this snake so that one half of her body is in my classroom and the rest is poking out in the classroom behind mine, like she is going through the wall in front of my shelf of horcruxes. It turned out beautifully, and it’s also perfect for our science teacher’s take on Hagrid’s Hut with various magical creatures in the room next door. Swipe to see Nagini’s tail where it comes out in her classroom. 🐍🐍 (A few parents have said it freaks them out, but no one has actually complained!) #harrypotterclassroom #iteachathogwarts #hpteacherfollowloop #hpteacherfollowgroup #classroomtransformation -#decoratingonabudget #titleoneschool #craftyteachers #iteachtoo #middleschool #litteacher #2ndaryela #teachersfollowteachers

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This was painted by a former student (shoutout to the talented @donna.mgifford ) for my Ravenclaw common room-inspired classroom. 🦅📚I think it really helps bring the room together. I love how our classroom and now hallway transformation at @parksidejrhigh have brought many former students and their families come back to see the changes we are making! 🏰🚂🤓⚡️ Once you are in my class, you will forever be “one of my kids.” #teachertruth . . . #harrypotterclassroom #classroomdecor #ravenclawcommonroom #ravenclawaesthetic #ravenclawpride #classroomtheme #iteachtoo #iteachmiddleschool #2ndaryela #teachersofinstagram #myclassroom #thriftyteacher #formerstudent #ilovemyschool #classroomtransformation #schoolmural #englishteacher #harrypotterforever #hpteacherfollowloop #teachersfollowingteachers

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As promised, here is the entryway to our science teacher’s classroom. Her favorite subject is life science, so her #Gryffindor room was inspired by Hagrid’s hut & the “Care of Magical Creatures” class at #Hogwarts The murals were done by Aaron Sullivan and the hut’s roof and sides were #upcycled from a former classroom project. 🦁. 🦄. 🕷🕸. 🍂🍁. 🦉. #gryffindoraesthetic #harrypottertheme #classroomdecor #craftyteacher #schoolhall #mural #careofmagicalcreatures #hippogriff #threeheadeddog #fluffy #buckbeak #hagrid #hagridshut #classroomtransformation #iteachtoo #iteachmiddleschool #middleschoolscience #hogwartstheme #hogwartshouses #harrypotterclassroom #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers

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Final entryway in our project (at least for now) is the long-awaited #Hufflepuff entrance @parksidejrhigh . The teacher in this classroom was not interested in theming the inside of her room, but we wanted our Hufflepuff students to have a place to call home. We focused the details on plants & herbology and making a cozy, homey feel. The arch was built by @slytherintomath and her hubby out of discarded pallet wood. .🌿. .💐. .🌱. .🐾. #harrypottertheme #hogwartshouses #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #harrypotterclassroom #classroomdecor #classroomtransformation #hallwaytransformation #teachersofinstagram #hufflepuffaesthetic #hufflepuffpride #parksidegoeshogwarts #hogwartstheme #iteachtoo #middleschool #hpteacherfollowloop #classroomprojects #diyer #palletproject #potterheadteacher #potterverse

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Remember that thing @slytherintomath and I were making with the cardboard tubes and pool noodle? 🤔 It was a #dementor ! 😱 He and his painted-on friend are heading toward the forbidden forest at the end of the hall. We had the best time making this guy… who would have thought something so creepy would come out of cardboard, duct tape, a pool noodle, and an old Halloween costume? (And a broken skeleton hand liberated from the science lab… 🤫). . . . . #harrypottertheme #crafting #hpteacherfollowloop #harrypotterclassroom #backtoschool #classroomtheme #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #craftyteacher #teacherbffs #classroomtransformation #hallwaytransformation #hogwarts #hogwartsaesthetic

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Besides Nagini, I have representations of the other #horcruxes and the weapons used to destroy them on the top of my corner bookshelf. L-R: the locket, the ring, the sword, the cup, the diadem, the diary(and you can just barely see the place where the snake comes out of the wall in the first pic but you can see her in the second). The diadem is a replica (Thanks, @amazon !) and the others are just stuff I found at thrift stores or made that I thought would be passable). The missing #Horcrux (#harrypotter himself) isn’t represented. 🤓⚡️ . . . #harrypotterclassroom #harrypotterhallway #classroomtransformation #deathlyhallows #hogwarts #ravenclaw #gryffindor #slytherin #hufflepuff #tomriddle #nagini #classroomdisplay #potterheadteacher

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