Perkins classrooms to undergo makeover

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins Schools hopes a change of scenery will facilitate better student learning. During the past two weeks, the district sampled classroom furniture for its redesign project. Prototype furniture has made its way to classrooms in Perkins High School and Briar Middle School, with most of the furniture set up in classrooms during spring break.Eventually, Perkins Schools wants to redesign classrooms at Perkins High School, Briar Middle School and portions of Furry Elementary and Meadowlawn Intermediate's libraries.In January, the district began to work with David Jakes, founder and chief design officer of David Jakes Designs LLC, to facilitate meetings with teachers on new spatial designs at all district schools to better understand the impact of space on learning.A $75,000 grant will pay for the design company's $40,000 contract, said Rena McClellan, district director of innovation in teaching and learning."The contract will continue until the scope of the work is complete," she said.When items are chosen for the redesign, Perkins Schools' permanent improvement funds will be used, McClellan said.Perkins senior Jacob Voight draws a graph on the new classroom furniture at the high school on Tuesday, April 17, 2018. Some of the tables are whiteboards, which allows students to write on them and then erase their work.A traditional classroom with immobile furniture often doesn't allow for active learning and collaboration among students, which led the district to this project to improve student performance and engagement in class, McClellan said. "We want students to own their learning," she said.Teachers will perform assessments before and after implementation using prototype furniture during a six-week period to test the impact on student achievement."This data will aid us in evaluating the new spatial design and its effect on this creative instructional approach," McClellan said. On Tuesday, Perkins High School students in Brian Cassidy's math classes used a combination of individual desks and chairs on small wheels. The classroom also had a table with a dry-erase surface so students can write on it."The kids are more comfortable," Cassidy said. "They're more awake with the rolly chairs."Cassidy also pointed out how the new furniture has changed his instruction. "(The new furniture) gives me more freedom to move things around," he said. "In the first period, the desks were formed in a more lecture style in rows instead of in groups like they are now for their group work."Students agreed with Cassidy."I like it way more than the stationary chairs," freshman Sapphire Hackathorn said. Added classmate Savannah Castello: "The other chairs didn't give us the room to fidget around in."Carolyn Stiles' business classes had similar furniture, with some taller desks and chairs in addition to a dry-erase desk. "It's been an adjustment but it's revitalized everything," Stiles said. "They like the movement and how they can choose where to sit. They're happier." She continued: "It's made teaching easier. Now I can see the kids sitting in the back and I can move around better."The trial period for the prototype furniture is expected to end soon after prototype furniture rotates through classrooms.Perkins students sit in class on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at Perkins High School. The school is testing how new furniture affects student performance.Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodPerkins senior Anthony Jolly, right, senior Aaron Ellington, middle, and junior Logan Fultz sit on the new classroom furniture during class on Tuesday, April 17, 2018, at Perkins High School.