Story of a Building Seminar: Tips & Resources from School Districts

Story of a Building Seminar, November 2017 (West Bridgewater, MA)

Building Your School from the Inside Out: Best Practices in School Furniture Planning, Selection and Procurement

Tips & Resources from School Districts
As you see from the summaries below, panelists may have approached planning the vision for their new schools in different ways, but each had the same point of view and message for the audience: school furniture plays an essential role in facilitating contemporary teaching and learning. Take charge of the process. This is the only way to ensure this important piece of a successful building project is translated in accordance with your vision for your new school.

Superintendent, Patricia Oakley, shared that her district envisioned a collegiate atmosphere for their new school and flexible classroom furniture that accommodated various student learning styles. She described the process to set a budget and locate the furniture that their committee agreed would serve that purpose.

Natick Superintendent, Peter Sanchioni and Assistant Superintendent, Anna Nolin shared their vision for their new 1000 student middle school — a 21st century school that promotes a hands on, project based learning environment. To accomplish this goal, they implemented a rigorous schedule to tour MA and out-of-state schools. Their new school interior design took into consideration ideas from several project based learning labs that they visited and will reflect a unique classroom design.

Harvard Superintendent, Linda Dwight, shared her enthusiasm for her first step – attending the EDspaces conference held annually around the country. EDspaces is not only a huge vendor fair where numerous school furniture manufacturers display innovative school furniture in a variety of settings, it is also a learning opportunity where architects and educators conduct workshops and present case studies about learning environments and trends.