Michigan District Launches "Classrooms Of The Future"

The Grand Rapids (MI) Press (12/14, Scott) reports that Rockford Public Schools has launched six "Classrooms of the Future" this school year – "two each at the elementary, middle and high school." These classrooms differ from others because they are "set-up to foster collaboration and communication." For instance, instead of sitting in "single desks lined up in a row," students in classrooms of the future sit "face to face at tables of five or six at each four points with interactive whiteboards at three different angles." The school district "set aside $500,000 in a prior bond issue to assist with" creating the classrooms. "It is partnering with [the company] Steelcase, which reached out to the district to be a prototype to gather data on how the learning environment and student achievement."