Kyle Hubler's classroom at Evergreen Middle School has enough Harry Potter-themed treasures to keep a Niffler busy for weeks.

The Hillsboro educator has recently been popping up all over social media feeds for his intricately decorated teaching space. Headlines about the Hogwarts-like classroom are peppered throughout the internet, from ABC to Yahoo News.

"It's such a cool feeling to see that some small little thing I did over the summer in my classroom for my students is igniting this positivity for people," he told The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday evening.

Hubler said the idea of decorating his classroom like a Hogwarts common room came to him the previous year. He had decorated a Harry Potter themed wall, which students took to immediately. Over the next few months, Hubler picked up several trinkets and other odds and ends from thrift stores to fully deck out the whole classroom.

"This year, I wanted it to be a place where you could truly get lost in the story of the books and of the classroom being this fantasy world where we were going to have fun to learn," he said. "It's sort of a refuge away from the day-to-day life."

Hubler, a self-described HufflePuff, grew up with the "Harry Potter" series. He devoured the books and is a fan of the films. The universe J.K. Rowling built over seven novels, he said, "is pretty much as real to me as some of my close friends."

The Hillsboro educator had always planned on setting up his classroom during the first week of August. And even though he knew the air conditioning at Evergreen wasn't on during the summer, he wasn't expecting the temperatures to soar over 100 degrees.

"None of that stuff really fazed me as I worked over the summer," he said. "I was just excited about what the students would think of it and the opportunities and activities it would afford us."

Over the course of 70 hours, Hubler constructed a learning space that looks as if it would fit right in at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The hallway just outside of Hubler's classroom is decorated to look like Platform 9 3/4. The educator's favorite Harry Potter quote greets students as they enter: "Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Once inside, you'll find long tables corresponding to each of the fictional wizarding school's four houses: Gryffindors sit in the back of the room, followed by Hufflepuffs, then come Ravenclaws and Slytherins.'

Hubler sorted the students by administering personality tests during the first week of classes. For those first few days, class was conducted outside in an effort to maintain the surprise.

Once sorted, each student was awarded with a badge representing his or her own house. The Hogwarts aesthetic spills over every part of the classroom.

Hubler's desk is full of wizardly odds and ends. The tomes on the surface are flanked by two owl bookends, while a bottle of ink and quill sit nearby.

The break area is also adorned with flags and chairs bearing each house's colors and insignias.

Hubler said the decorations and lessons with strong thematic ties have helped students engage during classroom sessions. And he's not even a literature teacher. Hubler teaches math.

"My job revolves around building connections and building relationships with my students," he said.

He even tries to appeal to interests outside of Harry Potter. Over the years, Hubler has noticed students carrying Dutch Bros. cups around. So he made the regional coffee chain and its products a focus of lessons soon after.

"We try to get them to want to learn," he said. "Anytime we're successful in that, it feels like we're winning the Super Bowl."

Or maybe the Quidditch World Cup?

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

@edercampuzano

ecampuzano@oregonian.com