Albemarle County Public Schools are incorporating elements which empower their students and enable them to thrive in an environment best fit for them.
Since the implementations of these flexible spaces Albemarle County Public Schools have noticed the following changes:
Increase in students' grades
Students' mental health appear to have improved (students appear to be happier)
Students' are more engaged, participate more, and have intellectual conversations
Below are some examples of flexible classrooms that encourage student engagement and improve participation.
Woodbrook Elementary School
Katie Collins fills her second grade classroom with numerous types of seating; from five-gallon buckets; to pillows; to crates. She explained her rationale was that her students "love to be under things, behind things, around things.”
Collins insisted that students can sit anywhere they desire as long as they feel safe in the classroom. As a result she states that students “not only be a lot more engaged but they seem happier, they seem more likely to engage in conversation.”
Principal Lisa Molinaro explains that at Woodbrook Elementary School classes contain
Tables which allow for collaborative work rather than individual work spaces
At least 3 types of seating (Such as couches, chairs, bunk beds, canoes)
Flexible and mobile book shelves which can create a sectioned off space or an open space where students can participate as a community
Sutherland Middle School
Language Arts teacher Cheryl Harris tells her students to sit anywhere they work best. This encourages students to utilize learning spaces to best fit their personal needs.
For some students, this means they can learn sitting on the floor, at a desk, or on a couch. Justin, a 7th grade student at Sutherland School explains that for his personal educational needs, a couch is too comfortable and distracting so a table is where he can focus.
"[The couch is] Not exactly the environment I want to be working in but for the other people, clearly they have their optimum working environments." -Justin