Back in March... A small-town school teacher was thrilled to hear she had won a 25-thousand dollar "Expo classroom makeover".

Today... students and teachers alike are blown away by the results.

Our Amber Schatz shows us the "before" and "after".

"Oh my God , it's beautiful, look at this!" After four days of intense makeover work... Expo team members finally reveal Mrs. Erickson's improved classroom

"I just love this.") (Peggy Erickson) "I think the first thing I noticed when walked in here was the color on the walls and the softness of the carpet, then I looked around and saw all this storage area and the banners and it's just beautiful. I couldn't imagine anything more pretty than it is." Looks aside... The makeover serves a bigger purpose..

Creating a better learning enviroment for students

(Wayne Rodriguez/Sanford Brands) "It was pretty cluttered, there was a lot of things that she needed, there were things all over the place, teachers are kind of pack-rats for lack of a better word they collect things over the years because their budgets are small." One look at this room made it a perfect candidate for the makeover... And in just four days... Two expo makeover team members completely transformed it into a more spacious, healthy learning environment

(Wayne) "If you design storage around your room to make it available for you then it works for you not against you." The once cramped and cluttered classroom we saw in March is nearly unrecognizable

And the whole community is weighing in..

"It's so bright, opened it up, it's yellow, brighter in here rather than being kind of dark and it's awesome." "This is amazing compared to what it was before, I'm so happy for Peggy." "Their faces were all like mine, very surprised and amazed, it's such an awesome color." Michael Nienow) "I was like, oh my God, I can't believe they did this much to the room." Several students had to get a sneak peek of the room before school starts..

And they give the makeover... a passing grade

"It's more roomy, she used to have everything packed together when I'd come in here, now you can move around in here." "I think some of the teachers will be jealous they don't have this room." Amber Schatz KX News.

The Expo classroom makeover was sponsored by Office Depot.

Expo team members say they often get the biggest turnouts in the smallest communities, like Tappen. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list