Huntington Beach elementary school class enjoys ‘gorgeous’ room renovation
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Students in Jamie Serafin’s third-grade class at Hope View Elementary School returned from winter break on Monday morning to discover that while their classroom was still in the same place, few things in that room looked the same.
As they walked in at 8:15 a.m., a few let out shrieks of excitement.
“I felt kind of amazed,” student Emily Holbrook said. “I walked into a completely different classroom. I didn’t know it was going to look this gorgeous.”
Serafin was selected as the 2025 winner of the OES Office Furniture “Transform Your Classroom” Remodel Contest.
Over the winter break, OES and HON Office Furniture partnered to transform Serafin’s Hope View classroom from a relic of decades past into what OES regional vice president John Martinez called a 21st century learning environment.
Gone are the old wooden desks with metal trays inside them. In their place are interconnected desks which form circular tables. The cubby containers are now portable, sitting by the classroom door and able to be brought to the desk or other places.
There are also multiple heights, a soft couch in front of the classroom, new chairs, cabinets and more. Pastel blue and green color hues complement the space.
Serafin said she found out she had won the contest during the first week of the school year, when Hope View Principal Christy Luckey came into her classroom with several district officials.
“I was like, whoa,” she recalled. “I couldn’t believe it. They gave me catalogs and they said it was an unlimited budget and I was like, all right, I’m going for it. I picked my color scheme, my seating. Instead of every student having your traditional desk, they’re going to have the option of having the couch seating, the floor cushion seating, the high seating. “
Serafin has been teaching in the Ocean View School District for 24 years, 18 of those at Hope View. She’s a proud supporter of the Hawks — both of her kids went to Hope View and she lives in the neighborhood.
She said she applied for the fourth annual OES classroom remodel contest over the summer, and had already been experimenting with alternative seating in her classroom for years.
“You know, it’s six hours a day here,” Serafin said. “I’m so excited for them to have a really modern, comfortable space. It kind of made me think of when you see how Google does their offices, and they have all of the different options for seating. It makes it fun, you know? Fun and comfortable.”
She told her students before the winter break that they had to empty their desks because the carpets were being cleaned, but didn’t let them in on the remodel, which was completed on Dec. 22. So, Monday morning was the big design reveal for the students.
Luckey said that she let the school staff know that Serafin had won on Friday; other staff members also poked their heads in the door on Monday for a look.
Martinez said the net cost for the install was about $22,000, all covered by OES and HON.
“We did a lot of design on it as well,” he said. “I think we revised it five or six times. For us, that’s part of the process … Hopefully it makes Mrs. Serafin’s job a lot easier, getting her lessons across.”
Monday’s reveal was also attended by Ocean View School District officials, including Supt. Julianne Hoefer and Assistant Supt. of Administrative Services Keith Farrow.
