As you may know, getting the necessary budget to address furniture needs in your school can be extremely difficult. It is not often that school leaders have allocated budget to go towards the interior of a classroom, so it is important to get these decisions right when you get the opportunity.
Obviously things like comfort, price, and look are important factors to consider - but do you know what the top 3 mistakes are when administrators are tasked with getting new furniture? In this article, we will highlight these three mistakes and provide you with solutions to help you get through your next project!
1. Using Outdated Solutions
The standard lecture style teaching is in the past. 21st century learning, or active learning, provides students and teachers with what they need to meet today’s demands, especially with STEAM subjects.
A 21st century classroom should foster both solitary and communal work. The furniture and tools within the room should be mobile in order to encourage easy transitions between different styles of teaching and learning. With mobile classroom chairs and desks, students can collaborate and form groups and then quickly switch to independent work when needed. Unfortunately, many districts still purchase the same old furniture that is proven to be less effective than the 21st Century solutions.
In order to avoid this mistake, it is important to do the research on what is best to include in your school or partner with a vendor that has done the research for you! When doing so, you can be certain that your environment will be setup for success for the next 20-30 years!
2. Lack of Feedback
Identifying the team involved with your school furniture project is a very important step to making sure that you are meeting the vision of your district and staff members. Your project staff can include anyone from different areas like curriculum, operations, technology, administrators, teachers, or even students! Putting together a diverse team will make sure that you are hitting the needs of everyone that will be using the furniture and equipment on a day-to-day basis.
When you get together a team to tackle the school furniture project, it also helps divide up the responsibilities so that one person doesn't have to feel stressed about handling all of the tasks. This will also give you another set of eyes to review pricing options and initial drawings once you get your project up and off the ground.
3. Waiting Too Long
It's human nature to procrastinate. Whether you are afraid of failing at the task at hand, overwhelmed by other things that fill up your day-to-day life, or just simply think that you have "plenty of time", it is indeed a major habit that many of us take on. However, waiting until the last minute to order your school furniture can be devastating to you and your project.
For starters, it takes time to work through the first two steps. Making sure that your new furniture matches the vision and mission of your school is very important so that your students and staff members feel completely supported. Then defining your staff roles in the process is necessary so that you get adequate feedback before making final decisions. Take a look at our timeline to give you an idea of what the process should look like and when is a good time to start taking the first steps.
Are you ready to get started on your upcoming school furniture project? We want to help you avoid these 3 major issues that affect school administrators today and want to take the first step with you! Schedule a free collaboration session with a local Kay-Twelve Educational Design Specialist today so that we can help you select the perfect furniture for your environment! After our collaboration session, we will provide you with customized planning, support, and implementation so that you don't have to worry about the stresses that come with ordering school furniture!
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