Unique Furniture Enhances Learning

  • 09/01/18
National Office Furniture

National Office Furniture provided furniture that gave TCALC classrooms the look and feel of a modern workplace.

The Topeka Center for Advanced Learning and Careers (TCALC) is an innovative high school program that provides students the opportunity to focus on professional skills like project management, business ethics, time management, teamwork, and creativity. Through a project-based curriculum, students receive authentic exposure to corporate environments while developing the skills needed to succeed in 21st-century professions.

The facility promotes this progressive approach through its variety of learning spaces. The facility was designed as if students are fully immersed in a professional culture, and offers collaboration spaces, multi-use areas, private offices, and team rooms to accommodate the unique curriculum.

To prepare students for high-skill, high-demand jobs, TCALC offers a variety of hands-on experiences and features spaces that encourage interaction within a professional atmosphere. Maneuver tables and Jiminy seating provide mobility, allowing students and faculty to reconfigure and accommodate their needs. Fringe, Reno, and Swift lounge furniture create a variety of collaboration spaces and casual commons areas. Private offices support flexibility with Tessera casegoods, while the Footings, Strassa, and WaveWorks tables provide unique gathering and meeting spaces.

Through four pathways (Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, Bioscience and Biomedical, Business, and Human Services) TCALC is teaching business ethics and skills within a professional atmosphere, allowing students to become more comfortable in a business culture, setting them up for success in their careers after graduation.

“Our goal is to have a unique, welcoming, and thought-provoking educational space which had the look and feel of a modern day corporate business environment. National Office Furniture was instrumental in helping us achieve that goal,” says Larry Robbins, deputy superintendent of Operations, Topeka Public Schools.

www.NationalOfficeFurniture.com

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management September 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Image credit: O

    Strategic Campus Assessment: Moving Beyond Reactive Maintenance in Educational Facilities

    While campuses may appear stable on the surface, building systems naturally evolve over time, and proactive assessment can identify developing issues before they become expensive emergencies. The question isn't whether aging educational facilities need attention. It's how institutions can transition from costly reactive maintenance to strategic asset management in a way that protects both budgets and communities.

  • Pittsburgh High School Upgrades Athletics Facilities’ Technology

    Plum Senior High School in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently partnered with South-Dakota-based Daktronics through the We’re All Mustangs Here Foundation to upgrade the technology in its athletics facilities, according to a news release. Daktronics designed, built, and installed new LED video displays and finished the project in time for the beginning of the 2025 high-school football season.

  • Creating Long-Term Sustainability on College Campuses Through Fair Student Housing

    The quality of student housing can have a significant impact on an individual’s college experience. Today’s higher education institutions face mounting challenges, including declining enrollment, low retention rates between the first and second years, and a rise in student mental health concerns. Thoughtfully designed living spaces can help address these issues by creating environments that promote both academic focus and personal well-being.

  • KI Launches K–12 Classroom Furniture Giveaway

    Contract furniture company KI recently announced the launch of its fourth-annual Classroom Furniture Giveaway, which awards $50,000 each to four K–12 educators across the U.S., according to a news release. The goal is to address decreasing student engagement and increasing teacher burnout numbers by updating learning spaces to accommodate modern needs.

Digital Edition