Furniture Takes Learning to the Next Level

classroom furnishings

Using VS America furnishings, Kenora Catholic District School Board adopted open and collaborative learning spaces, phasing out the traditional lecture-style classroom.

IN 2013, the Kenora Catholic District School Board (KCDSB) in Ontario, Ca., was a traditional school district with limited exposure to the “learning commons” concept. The school district itself, with four elementary schools and one high school, has roots that reach back to the 1880s.

The groundswell for change in KCDSB’s classrooms began when students and teachers took action to transform their outdated, industrial-era classrooms into open, transparent learning environments.

“We actually had an entire class of grade five and six students approach us with a proposal to help them rethink their classroom space,” says Jamey Robertson, Innovation and Creativity coordinator for KCDSB. The children had done their homework and brought valid concerns to the table, asking the adults to support their case. Students, teachers, and librarians were all ready to embrace collaborative learning spaces.

“Our staff saw VS America as the core component,” Robertson says. “They were exceptionally supportive in helping us envision what’s possible with their products and the kinds of learning conditions we could create. VS offers other things we really value, such as build quality, warranty, and local support. But the first factor was the flexibility of the products themselves —the fact that they’re so adaptable, so customizable, and offer a million different options for what you can create.”

The furniture gives the district the ability to shape and reshape their spaces without the insurmountable costs of construction or remodeling. “VS products are interchangeable and consistent in the way they work together,” Robertson explains. “The feedback from students has been 100-percent positive. They love the vibrant bright colors and describe the VS pieces as fun and uplifting.”

Teachers are now free to experiment with their spaces, and the traditional lecture-style classroom is a thing of the past. Instead, students are moving in living, changing classrooms.

www.vsamerica.com

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

Featured

  • California Boarding School Opens New Inquiry Collaborative Facility

    Cate School, a boarding school in Carpinteria, Calif., for students grades 9–12, recently announced that it has finished renovating a historic dining hall into a new academic hub, according to a news release. The school partnered with Blackbird Architects and Tangram Interiors on the two-story, 16,000-square-foot Inquiry Collaborative.

  • Texas A&M Breaks Ground on Campus Visitor Center

    Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new campus learning hub and visitor center, according to a news release. The 211,000-square-foot Aplin Center will stand three stories and is scheduled to open to students in 2028.

  • University of Kansas Opens $400M Football Stadium Reconstruction

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently announced that the $400-million reconstruction of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is complete in time for the 2025 football season, according to a news release. The university partnered with Turner Construction Company on the project.

  • University of West Florida Opens New Laboratory Facility

    The University of West Florida recently announced that renovation work is complete on a new lab building for its campus in Pensacola, Fla., according to university news. Building 80 will serve as the home to the university’s civil engineering program and the Tyler Chase Norwood Construction Management Program.