CHARLOTTE — Most adults have memories of classrooms where they sat in the same place, in a fixed row of desks, all day. That is still the experience of most students.
But those who walk into many classrooms at St. Gabriel School see something very different – adjustable tables and chairs, movable shelves and storage units and comfortable padded seats in a variety of shapes, all on wheels and able to be arranged by the kids to accommodate the day’s activities.
It’s called flexible furniture – part of an ongoing project to make a concept called dynamic movement a priority in the school’s classrooms.
Dynamic movement allows kids to move throughout the entire school day, not just during recess. Students can easily adjust chairs and work surfaces according to their height. They can move chairs and tables together to work in groups or push a seat into a quiet area for solitary reading.
It also benefits neurodivergent students who might need to move or fidget during a lesson to maintain focus, something that’s nearly impossible in older, rigid seating.
“What began as a simple search for new classroom furniture quickly became something far more meaningful,” said Principal Michele Snoke. “We realized that furniture today is not just a desk and a chair – it’s a tool that supports student learning. This is more than just a furniture upgrade – it’s a commitment to excellence.”
Second-grade teacher Michelle Boyle was the first to adopt the concept after attending a 2022 conference on movement in class. She incorporated desks with pedals and other items in her room, but she soon realized they were too heavy for students to move.
Then came the flexible furniture that was first used in the media center – new chairs, tables, seating and storage units that she could easily rearrange depending on the lesson and that the kids could move according to their needs.
“Kids today are different, with more diverse ways of learning – this furniture helps with that,” Boyle said. “And everybody needs to move. They’re not confined to one spot all day, and it allows them to collaborate and communicate with each other.”
The result is a classroom alive with activity. On a recent morning, her 25 students worked on a math review, moving between several stations each with its own problem to solve. In one corner of the room, two boys sat next to each other poring over a book, looking for information to answer one of the morning’s math questions. In other areas, groups of students huddled together, working on problems and discussing concepts, while others worked on their own.
“Studies have shown that movement helps imprint memory and retain information,” Snoke said.
Movement expert Dieter Breithecker, Ph.D., president of Germany’s Federal Institute of Posture & Exercise, has noted that it’s not only a student’s brain that must be active during learning, but that body, mind and soul form a holistic package that must be engaged, particularly for those under 12.
“When children are being active,” he noted, “the brain is more alert, and the brain will absorb information (taught) by the teacher better.”
An adjustable chair might not sound like much to an adult, but to a child it can mean the difference between effective learning and frustration, Boyle said. Swinging feet in the air when a chair is too tall can be a distraction – one that flexible furniture allows students to solve on their own.
“They’re not having to focus on the fact that their feet can’t touch the ground,” Boyle said. “They can focus on lessons.”
Following Boyle’s lead, other teachers have signed on, and the eventual goal is to make the transition to flexible furniture in every classroom, which the school has been raising money toward through its Jaguar Fund.
St. Gabriel is leading the way in diocesan schools when it comes to flexible furniture, but others are joining in. Holy Trinity Middle School incorporated flexible furniture in its newly built science wing, and others are integrating the style into classrooms and libraries.
- Christina Lee Knauss, Troy C. Hull