Boring? Stuffy? Drab? Not these classrooms

You want to be happy. You don’t want to be miserable doing your work.”

Liam Rodriguez, Fifth-grade

A student in Sarah Kane’s third-grade class steps between colorful couches, walks past two students with laptops sitting in beanbag chairs on a rug, ducks beneath Kane’s outstretched arm, and sharpens his pencil — during class!

Kane, a veteran teacher at Rhame Avenue Elementary School in the East Rockaway School District, isn’t concerned. “It’s very lively! It looks messy but they’re learning,” she says.

Welcome to a classroom of the future, where the room is inviting, students choose their own seats, and the teacher isn’t always in charge.

It’s called ‘flexible seating’, and schools across the country are increasingly embracing this new way to teach — and reach — tomorrow’s leaders. There are rugs, couches, desks that join together to form working groups, and individual work areas. Students don’t need to raise a hand to ask for a pencil, and certainly not to ask a question.

“I like having different seats,” said fifth-grader Vinny Vilardi. “We have the freedom to move around. It’s more comfortable and easier to work.” Vinny points to an area near the window, a cozy spot with a plush rug and sunlight streaming in. “I like the rug.”

Classmate Liam Rodriguez said choosing seats is fun. “This kind of seating suits us more,” he said. “It gives us a variety. You want to be happy. You don’t want to be miserable doing your work.”

Which is his favorite seat? Rodriguez doesn’t hesitate. “I like the rocking chairs,” he says, smiling.

Peer learning is encouraged — even required — and the teacher is in the background, helping a group here, monitoring a group there. But definitely not at the front of a drab classroom with neatly arranged desks in tidy rows of silently obedient — and disinterested — students staving off boredom.

“It’s a chaotic mess,” said sixth-grade teacher Ann Kerner. “It’s colorful in here. They make it their own space. They come in and choose what seating works best for them, not sit where their friends are sitting.”

Students in the flexible seating classrooms at East Rockaway — there are three, with plans to include more — choose their seats each morning. Part of their seat choice depends on what work they need to accomplish that day. Part of the choice is how they are feeling that morning.

Schools leaders said they already have seen increases in student performance and alertness. As schools grapple with declines in standardized testing in the wake of the pandemic lockdown, new strategies are needed to connect with kids.

“Flexible furniture allows for students to quickly transition from independent, partner work, and small group work,” Rhame Avenue Principal Jack Bixhorn said.

East Rockaway Superintendent James DeTommaso said the district is creating classroom environments similar to professional environments to foster teamwork and initiative in students. Plus, it’s fun.

On a tour of the flexible seating classrooms recently, DeTommaso said Sean Murray, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, looked at him and said, “What kid wouldn’t want to be in this class?”

That’s the attitude East Rockaway is bringing to its flexible seating classrooms. Sure, the rooms don’t look anything like your parents’ classrooms. The benefit is how students are learning to work together.

“It’s not about the furniture, it’s about the skills,” Kane said. “They collaborate, use technology. They’re getting to know themselves as learners.”

Lori DeVarso, a Rhame Avenue fifth-grade teacher with 21 years experience, said that flexible seating makes students become the leaders with teachers stepping back.

“It’s really exciting to see the leadership roles that develop,” DeVarso said. “They’re stronger leaders when they collaborate. In traditional seating, you don’t have these deep conversations about the content.”

DeVarso secured a $10,000 grant to help turn her classroom into a flexible seating model. DeTommaso said the district would increase the number flexible seating classrooms in the future because future jobs demand new skills.

“Companies are looking for leadership and team players who think critically and can problem solve,” DeTommaso said. “This creates an atmosphere conducive to learning.”