Over winter break in 2023, while the halls of Bogle Junior High School in Chandler sat quiet, a group of teachers worked on a special surprise for the students who needed it most.
 
While her students were away, Kari Mochel and a small group of educators worked in secret to transform the school's special needs classroom. New games filled the shelves, yoga mats were ready to use, comfortable seating was put in place and artificial plants and a colorful outdoor mural brought new life to the space.
 
The students didn't know what was waiting for them on the other side of winter break – they had not asked for a new or remodeled classroom. They simply returned to school to find that a caring and supportive group of teachers had spent their break creating something specifically for them.
 
"It was really a team effort," Mochel said. "People came in and made this amazing thing happen for a group of kids that really benefited from that support."
 

 
For Mochel, her students feeling cared for was always the goal when she applied for Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers. The classroom transformation was made possible through a $2,500 Wishes for Teachers grant, which provided Mochel and her colleagues with the resources to create an environment where special needs students could feel more comfortable, supported and excited to be at school.
 
The granted wish quickly became something much bigger than a classroom makeover. Years later, the space is still serving the students it was created for. For example, the school's physical therapist uses the yoga mats for weekly yoga sessions with students, and the room has become a popular place for students of all ages and abilities to spend time on campus.
 
"It is one of the happiest places on our campus to go and hang out," Mochel said.
 
For Mochel, creating that kind of environment is not new. She has spent 22 years on the Bogle campus, serving as a classroom teacher, school counselor and behavior specialist – the role she held when she received the Wishes for Teachers grant. Now, she works closely with academically at-risk students as well as special education students who are struggling with the social and behavioral skills necessary for general education placements.
 
Throughout her career, Mochel has always looked for ways to make school better for the people around her. As a student herself, middle school was her favorite because it's the age where students figure out who they are and where they fit. When she began teaching, she spent her mornings at an elementary school and afternoons at a middle school. After her first year, she knew she wanted to pursue whatever position was available full-time at the junior high level.
 
While her love for the middle school age group initially called her to the profession, Mochel eventually became drawn to work that allowed her to assist both students and teachers.
 
"I absolutely loved being able to help teachers make their classrooms better, and then also being able to help individual kids that were struggling," Mochel said.
 
At Bogle, that has meant finding ways to build a positive school environment. Mochel helped start the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework, known as PBIS, which focuses on positive behavior and creating a school experience that works for more students.
 
But creating that exceptional experience can be difficult when resources are limited.
 
"I feel like junior high is always the forgotten grade level," Mochel said.
 
Mochel explained that, at the middle school level, she and her fellow teachers often have to raise their own money for resources, while high schools often have sports boosters, parent programs and other opportunities to bring in additional funding.
 
"We have to go out and find our own ways, like the Wishes for Teachers program," she said.
 
The Wishes for Teachers grant gave Mochel and her fellow teachers the ability to invest in their students without paying out of their own pockets. But what they created was worth far more than the items they purchased – they turned an overlooked space into a place where students could feel like they belonged. For years to come, it will remain a place where they can find a little more joy in their school day.
 

 
Mochel now works with students who are at risk of failing out of junior high. Her classroom focuses on more than academics, though, as she teaches life skills, encourages students to focus on the positives and celebrates their wins.
 
"I try to have my classroom be a place where they know that they can go where someone is willing to help them," Mochel said. "I'm like their school mom."
 
Creating that sense of support goes hand in hand with giving her students positive experiences at school, but she knows teachers cannot always provide those opportunities on their own. When resources are limited, educators are often left to fill the gaps themselves.
 
"With the state of education, especially public education right now, we are so underfunded that we either pay for stuff out of our own pockets to make these experiences happen for kids, or they just don't happen," Mochel said.
 
For Mochel, the Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers program is a reminder of what can happen when teachers have the resources to give their students more.
 
"I'm grateful for the supporters and people who put money back into these types of grant programs," Mochel said. "Classrooms need the extra money, and especially if we want to be able to provide those positive experiences for kids, we can't do it on our own. So, a heartfelt thank you to Fiesta Sports Foundation."
 
Mochel's story is one of more than 3,000 that have been made possible by Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers since 2016. Educators across the Valley are invited to submit their wishes – like Mochel's classroom transformation – now through September 30.
 
Arizona K-12 public and charter school teachers are encouraged to fill out the 10-minute application by clicking here. Winners will be notified at Wishes for Teachers Draft Day presented by SRP on Wednesday, November 18.