This article was republished from MiEN.
What started 25 years ago as a single campus in San Antonio has now expanded into a network of public and early childhood schools across Texas. Following the success of its initial open-enrollment public middle school, an elementary and high school were added a decade ago, leading to the recent acquisition of new land and the grand opening of Sherman Inspire Academy in Sherman, Texas, this upcoming school year. The new 500-student public charter school is operated by BRAINATION, a nonprofit network of schools serving students in all areas of life, including public schools, foster homes, residential facilities, and recovery. Sherman Inspire Academy’s groundbreaking design fosters rich learning experiences and meaningful collaborations with staff and peers—all with the goal of creating a school full of wonder and joy.
“We want to reimagine education globally and with intentionality,” said Justin Johnston, superintendent. “That doesn’t mean everything has to be fresh and new as much as there has to be a cause and an intentionality behind everything that we’re doing here.” This requires a different way of looking at education, how it’s delivered, the setting it’s delivered in, and how students engage and interact with the learning.
Being intentional also requires a different approach to instruction in a school system where not every student’s development naturally aligns with a specific grade or level. “For us, it makes no sense for kids to be placed into groups based on their ages,” says Johnston. “We all learn at a different pace and speed, and we all develop differently.”
Based on these realities, the school carefully designs learning experiences to develop students across four different themes: relationships, systems, change, and future. “We focus on what’s worth learning for the students,” says Johnston. In concert with state-identified standards, these themes lay the groundwork for students to succeed in college, in their careers, and throughout their lives.
Furniture Matters
As they laid out the plans for their new K-12 school, the team at BRAINATION put much effort into selecting and installing furnishings and fixtures that would actively support their unique pedagogical approach and flexible learning environment. “We’ve learned over time that furniture really matters, and that it’s possible to have a school with the wrong furniture in it,” says Jason Duran, Sherman Inspire Academy principal. “However, it’s much easier when spaces are designed with furniture that’s aligned to the outcome that you’re trying to achieve.”
For this particular school project, the furniture had to be “flexible but intentional” in keeping with the institution’s core focus on intentionality. Duran says this way of thinking helped the new school avoid the trap of putting flexible furniture into fixed spaces (and vice versa, in certain cases).
For instance, putting cool, modern furniture into an area meant for direct teaching isn’t always the best approach. “You can make a mistake on both ends,” Duran explains. “Your furniture can be too flexible, and it can also be too finite. The trick is to make sure that you’re designing for what it is that you actually need inside of the space.”
“It’s a Real Relationship”
The BRAINATION team turned to MiEN for help creating and achieving its furniture vision. That decision paid off. According to Johnston, MiEN turned out to be a very responsive and receptive partner that acted as a collaborator throughout the process. “It’s a real relationship; it’s not one-sided,” says Johnston. “Our MiEN representative is always available and even came to help us assemble furniture when it arrived onsite.”
Duran says MiEN also understood the school construction process and the various surprises and delays that can occur on the road to completion. He liked this flexible mindset and how the company made accommodations to store the completed furnishings off-site until the school was ready to install them. “That was comforting for us and allowed us to focus on other aspects of the project,” says Duran.
MiEN was also flexible on choices, meaning the school—which was being built from scratch—was able to swap out a few options for other choices. For example, it decided to add an EA Sports gaming room and wanted to make some adjustments to the furniture selections. “We wanted to do something a little different than what was being proposed,” Johnston says, “and MiEN listened to our needs and made the changes.”
Using Furniture to Reshape Learning
As he looks around at the new space that will be bustling with 500 students this fall, Duran really likes how students will have access to different types of modern furniture and tables to congregate and collaborate. He personally loves the low seating that kindergarteners will be using and plans to take any opportunity to get down low to the floor. “They think I’m down there trying to work with them,” says Duran, laughing, “when in reality I’m just trying to make sure I can get up off the floor if I need to.”
Duran expects the Starbucks-esque common areas to be extremely popular among students, who like gathering in comfortable, inviting spaces. “Our goal was to make those areas inviting and comfortable,” he says, “and I think we achieved that mission.”
As for Johnston, he really likes how the entire building and everything in it was designed with intentionality. No features were left out, and everything that made it into the design is there for a reason. “Every space is functional and furnished with intentionality and purpose behind what it is we want to be able to accomplish there,” says Johnston, who encourages other schools to consider exactly how every square foot of space is going to be used before making any design or furniture decisions.
“Know what the desired outcome is for the space and understand the furniture’s role in it,” Johnston concludes, “versus spending money on things that students aren’t going to use.”
