Second, our classroom space and design no longer fits our program needs. These classrooms were designed at a time when children sat at desks in a row, facing the teacher at the front of the classroom. The teacher talked and the children sat and listened. With curriculum and teaching style what it is today, the front of the classroom is hard to find. Elementary school children sit in groups at tables, and a classroom might have several activities going on at the same time.
Special education is as likely to be going on inside the classroom as out.
The teacher isn't the only one teaching anymore. Among students and teachers there is more give and take, something our current classroom configurations don't take that into account. Technology is another consideration. Many of our classrooms were not designed with space for the requisite 2-4 computers, nor is the wiring for those computers available. Like the school districts around us, Mendham Borough schools are bursting.