Classroom Makeover Creates Brilliant Gifted & Talented Space

January 11, 2022

You know a learning environment is not just good, but great – like, really great – when the bell rings and students say, ‘Is class over already?’ That’s happening a lot lately in the newly made-over gifted and talented classroom of Bethanne Strippoli.

As the G&T teacher at Little Falls No. 1, a grades 5–8 public school in Little Falls, New Jersey, Ms. Strippoli deserves extra credit for her students’ enthusiasm. Not only is she a devoted teacher of 25 years, she’s also the grand-prize winner of the dancker "Reimagine Your Classroom Contest 2021." Her entry won a wall-to-wall classroom furniture overhaul that’s creating exciting opportunities for her busy G&T students.

The first-time contest was sponsored by dancker (interiors) of New Jersey, Smith System (classroom furniture) and ScreenBeam (wireless content sharing solutions). It was open to K–12 schools in New Jersey with over 125 students. All three companies were fully on board to provide design, delivery and installation services.

“We wanted to thank teachers, during an especially hard period of the pandemic,” said Lurdes Borges with dancker. The company accepted entrants between Dec. and Jan. last year, and it publicly announced the winner on National Teacher Appreciation Day in May.

Strippoli’s Video Entry Wowed Judges

G&T teachers need their classrooms to be 10 spaces in one – collaborative makerspace, art studio, science lab, technology den, etc. Ms. Strippoli requires even more. She’s also the makerspace, book club and creative writing teacher, and an advisor to clubs. She needs to store everything from Snap Circuits and programmable robots, to 3D goggles, maker materials and marble mazes. Keeping everything organized is, understandably, hard.

She also has an oddly angled classroom, fashioned from dividing a former home-ec space. The existing furniture, while functional, was bulky and dated. It included stationary stack chairs, low tables, and a heavy mix of open shelving and metal cabinets that lined the walls.

“The older furniture was locked to the location. Students had to shove things out of the way to work,” Strippoli said. There had to be a way to make the G&T classroom function more efficiently for her and her students. Mobile furniture, better storage, flexible seating and work surfaces of various heights were on her wish list.

Inspired to find a solution, she entered the “Reimagine Your Classroom Contest 2021” in Jan. 2021. She created a video of her current classroom (actually, a photo montage, since her school was virtual at the time) and narrated how a reimagined space would improve the learning and teaching experience:

After careful scoring of all entries, judges from the design and education community selected Ms. Strippoli’s entry as the grand-prize winner. Her video stood out for its clear message on what she needed to support multiple uses of her classroom. The judges agreed that she could truly make great use of design help and new furniture.

To surprise Ms. Strippoli with the good news, dancker, who hopes to make this an annual contest, organized a surprise party. G&T students gathered among balloons and streamers, waiting for her to enter the decorated classroom. Due to hybrid learning protocols, this was the first time in months that Ms. Strippoli was able to be in person with her G&T students.

Collaborative Design Process Begins

During the spring, design sessions at dancker’s Experience Center brought together the team: Ms. Strippoli, Principal Dana Sprague and Superintendent Tracey Marinelli; dancker sales members, and Smith System and Steelcase representatives. For dancker, the biggest challenge was finding the right configuration to meet such varied needs for the space and providing the right seat count with a variety of seating options.

“All three school members were very involved in reviewing the options and determining the final layout. But Ms. Strippoli took the lead and had the final decision on everything,” said Lurdes Borges with dancker. The school staff deferred to dancker’s expertise to see what options existed among Smith Systems’ vast classroom furniture solutions.

“Before this contest, we only knew the typical old-school classroom furniture, so [dancker’s] innovation and ideas really were the minds behind the design. They were ingenious,” Ms. Strippoli said.

The “Reimagined” Furniture Arrives

The new Smith System furniture arrived in late fall and was installed while the school was closed for the NJEA Teacher Convention. Ms. Strippoli, with the help of her daughters, prepared her new classroom for the following Monday morning when she would get to watch everyone’s reactions.

So was Principal Sprague. “The first word initially that came to my mind (when I saw the space) was ‘opportunities’! There’s now so much opportunity for collaboration and innovation.” She’s certain the new Smith System furniture, especially the flexible seating, will inspire learning.

Furniture Line-Up: Something for Everyone

The new furniture has great variety, but it is also seamlessly cohesive. There’s seating and worksurfaces suitable for one student or collaborative teams, multiple storage units, and a new teacher desk. The color choices brighten the learning vibe, too.

Classroom Tables and Classroom Desks

The team included both fixed- and adjustable-height tables and desks on casters: a 48” x 48” Cascade® Maker Table with butcher block surface and removable totes; an Elemental® Nest and Fold table, Interchange® Desks, a Silhouette® Sit-Stand Desk, Cascade® Teacher Desk and Planner® Access Station.

“The center Maker Table is the most amazing, perfect piece of the whole room. It’s our island. It’s where we meet before everyone picks their spot for the class period.”

Classroom Storage

There was a huge opportunity to make classroom storage more efficient, accessible, mobile and multipurpose. Versatile white boards where added to Cascade® Mega-Towers (with shelves and portable totes), and a Cascade® Mid-Case AV Cart.

“I need to switch gears quickly and stay organized. The kids appreciate that organization. They can quickly find what we need. For example, students can wheel out a Cascade unit and fill up a white board with ideas for their ‘Hornets’ Coffee ‘n Cakes’ small business,” Strippoli explained.

Classroom Chairs, Stools, Rockers and Soft Seating

Special emphasis was put on providing many flexible seating options, both upholstered seating and non-upholstered seating, stationary and active (with movement): Groove® chairs and stools, Theorem® chairs, Oodle® stack stools, and selections from Smith System’s soft, upholstered Flowform® line (soft rocker, ottoman, bean bench).

Everyone’s a Winner

Without a doubt, the new G&T classroom has transformed how Ms. Strippoli teaches and her students learn. “We’re using every square inch of this room, and we’re letting everybody be who they are and be comfortable in that space.”

Beyond the learning benefits, Ms. Strippoli personally feels the deep psychological bonus.

“I appreciate it every morning when I walk in here. It feels like a clean slate. Teaching for 25 years and going through what we’ve gone through this past few years ... I feel really lucky. Everyone [in the “Reimagine” process] has been amazing.”

The contest sponsors and judges think Ms. Strippoli is pretty amazing, too. Congratulations to her and Little Falls School No. 1!