Page 34 - School Planning & Management, January/February 2019

CASE HISTORIES { REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS }
The Built-Environment Is The “Third Teacher” with nora
OFFICIALS AT Community Consolidated School District 59 (CCSD59), located just outside
Chicago, have a vision of 21st-century edu- cation. They believe the built-environment can support educational outcomes in a big way by functioning as a “third teacher”— all with smart boards, connectivity, collaborative open areas, and dynamic, multi-use experiential spaces that feature an abundance of light. But it all starts with the floors, according to Tony Rossi, execu- tive director for Facilities and Operations.
One of the most modern school systems in the country, the district serves nearly 73,000 residents within 24 square miles. And it has made nora premium rubber
flooring standard for all of its facilities, including classrooms, corridors, and entry areas across 11 elementary schools, an early learning center, and three junior high schools.
“The floor has remained looking new without an intrusive maintenance process that could otherwise affect our student and staff use of spaces,” Rossi says. He adds that the district has a million square feet of total area to maintain.
Enhanced acoustics and slip resistance are also important to the district, which uses state-of-the-art building materials and interior finishes, paying close attention to their chemical composition, environ- mental impact, and cost over time.
Community Consolidated School District, in Chicago, has made nora rubber flooring standard for all of its facilities, including classrooms, corridors, and entry ways.
www.nora.com
From Teacher to Student-Centric Learning
WITH THE GOAL to move from teacher-centric to learner-centric pedagogy, Wallace Elementary School in Johnston, Iowa, home to nearly 600 students in grades K-5, created new classrooms and breakout spaces to support its learning community. After a long consideration of suitable furniture for the spaces, school decision makers discovered NorvaNivel and knew they had found a solution. The new learning spaces have empowered students with choice and educators with functionality, allowing them to recon- figure their spaces for different learning activities within seconds.
Despite knowing what they wanted to achieve in the learning spaces, the school felt challenged in realizing its vision for agile learning spaces. Rearranging the ex- isting furniture into a more flexible layout was not delivering on the requirements. Additional furniture they purchased over-
whelmed the space and wasn’t comfort- able for students.
NorvaNivel has years of experience creating highly-adaptable learning spaces to facilitate contemporary pedagogy. With the goal to create flexible classrooms and breakout areas, school decision-makers saw that NorvaNivel’s furniture could deliver against key requirements.
NorvaNivel used a collection of key products to meet the school’s challenges: The GENGA collection of foam blocks to encourage communication, creativity, and critical thinking; the CONCLAVE Collection of group seating; the STEAM- SPACE T-Table collection of collaborative desks; the WORKPAD Caddy a storable and moveable seating solution; and the SUNSHINEONACLOUDYDAY Foldable Table for a dynamic collaborative work and presentation space.
With a choice of flexible seating and work areas, students are empowered to
Wallace Elementary School in Johnston, Iowa, integrated NorvaNivel’s furniture collections to help their classrooms move from a teacher-centric to a learner-centric pedagogy.
create their own places to learn. Having ownership over their space has made them more comfortable and more receptive
to learning. Contemporary pedagogies require flexible learning environments. With their new learning spaces, Wallace Elementary can adapt to whatever the cur- riculum requires. SPM
www.norvanivel.com
34 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019
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