Auburn Adaptive P.E. Teacher Transforms Garage Into Gym For Lessons On His Own Dime

AUBURN (CBS13) — Jared Sellers' classroom sure has changed since the coronavirus moved everyone inside their own homes.

The Auburn Unified School District adaptive physical education teacher is using a forgotten part of the house to teach his students.

"I looked at my garage and it was a bit of a mess. And, knew that I could transform it into a space where I could still teach students. It was a process and it took a village to put it together," Sellers said.

It also took money. Sellers says it cost him around $1,500 of his own hard-earned money making his garage into a home gym for virtual classes. He bought equipment, flooring and added a new drain so the garage wouldn't flood if it rained, all to make online lessons for his students like Paloma and Vanessa Clark feel as in-person as possible.

"I do get choked up to see the look on their face that they saw him because they felt so disconnected," Renee Clark, Paloma and Vanessa's mother, said. "And they didn't fully…it's hard to explain to them exactly what was going on and why they weren't able to go to school."

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This exercise angel's classes are meant to help his students with motor learning skills, but these classes through a laptop mean much more than that.

"It is very nice to have not just access to Jared and all of his knowledge. But, being able to physically see him and for the kids to be able to stay connected to the people in their lives," Clark said.

It may take money, sweat and occasionally help from his own kids, but there's definitely been major gains during this time of pain.

"There's no two ways about it. I have a great job. It's a very meaningful way to spend my time and to see the improvements with the kids is second to none," Sellers said. "So I'm definitely willing to go out of my way to what, improve a little garage space and learn some new technology if it can make a difference in the kids' lives."

Sellers told CBS13 he's still working with the school district on how his lessons will look moving forward when the new school year starts up. They'll have to review and implement all of the recommendations coming down from the CDC and the state for future in-person lessons.

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