Nine  teachers, representing all three sites (Aromas, San Juan, Anzar) and grades Kindergarten through grade 12, have volunteered to be teachers who pilot different learning spaces that will include new furniture.  The district has had some set aside reserve funds for furniture replacement and we want to intelligently spend it to begin upgrading our classrooms. These  teachers have been working with David Jakes on these plans and on August 17-18 will finalize them.  Over Christmas break, their classrooms will be emptied, cleaned, painted, new flooring installed, and new furniture delivered. They will learn how to flexibly arrange furniture for different instructional needs of the class. Throughout the second semester, we will collect feedback from the teachers, from students and others who may use the room, to understand which designs and which furniture choices/room arrangements work best or provide the most flexibility. We will use this data to inform our purchases going forward. Slowly but surely, we will work to modernize our classrooms in support of the innovative instructional practices we hope to embrace.

Excitement is building as we approach the holiday break. Starting on December 16, the first day teachers are gone, 9 teachers will have their classrooms totally emptied, repainted, refloored, carpeted, and repopulated with a variety of new furniture these pilot teachers have selected to support their teaching and learning activities.  

We worked with David Jakes, our consultant from last year, to understand better what might be necessary for a 21st century classroom. We needed this information to inform our renovation over time of our classrooms. Rather than buy just 500 desks of the same old style, we decided to run a pilot to see what teachers and students felt were the best options from furniture designers everywhere.