Teachers Impacted: Meagan Holder
Grade Levels Impacted: 8th
Students Impacted: 250

In today's rapidly evolving educational landscape, fostering student collaboration and interaction is essential to preparing them for future challenges. The current classroom setup in the 8th grade at Friendswood Junior High has served us well for the last several generations of Friendswood Junior High students; however, it is time to update the learning environment to better support active learning, peer-to-peer interaction, and collaboration among students. The current seating arrangement in the 8th grade classroom consists of 30-35 independent desks. These desks impede group work and collaboration. Our current desks were brought to the new junior high from the old junior high and have been in the junior high classroom for decades. Equipped with bars on the side, unutilized baskets beneath, and cracked seats the current configuration inhibits the ability to gather into groups easily or efficiently. This grant would allow for 4 groups of 4 students in the classroom. The new seating would allow the following:
--Seamlessly transition between individual and group work.
--Engage in peer-to-peer learning and small-group discussions.
--Build essential social and communication skills.
--Work in an environment that encourages active participation and creative problem-solving