School Furniture Blog

Microsoft Corp. on June 26 hosted some of the finalists for its 2007 Imagine Cup, a software programming contest open to college students worldwide. The final judging will take place in August, and students are competing for a $25,000 grand prize. What’s notable among this year’s entries is how students have tackled some serious subjects, said Microsoft’s Craig Mundie–such as software that helps students with disabilities.

Worthington Direct carries many products that are versatile and ergonomic that are prefect for school computer use. Available, are computer tables or desks that can accommodate students of any age, including those in wheelchairs. The Works Desk™, by Smith System,  has a hand-crank which is a teacher’s dream because it was especially designed to adjust the tabletop height with equipment still on the surface.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today!

When Microsoft Corp.’s worldwide student software programming competition began four years ago, many projects that emerged were "fun," according to Craig Mundie, the company’s chief research and strategy officer. There was no shortage of smiles as Mundie and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates visited June 26 with some of the finalists from this year’s Imagine Cup. But the problems the university students’ projects addressed–education gaps in rural China, or the way blind and deaf students are shut out of mainstream classrooms–were much more serious than the music-player programs Mundie remembers from the early days.

A team of students from Egypt presented a program that converts classroom tests into different formats to suit students with different disabilities, such as dyslexia or attention-deficit disorder. A French group worked on a joystick-style mouse and software that helps students with physical disabilities participate in some activities, such as practicing "handwriting" on a computer screen.

"They have moved gracefully from entertainment to serious" subjects, Mundie said in an interview with the Associated Press. Gates and Mundie spent a few minutes with each of the 10 teams that converged at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. The teams came from as far away as Hokkaido, Japan, and as near as Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.

In August, these teams will compete with 100 other groups of finalists in South Korea for prizes of as much as $25,000. In all, the competition awards more than $170,000. For many of the student programmers, meeting Gates was quite a rush. "The best part was seeing Bill’s face and realizing he was genuinely interested," said James Alexander, a 22-year-old who just graduated from the University of Hull in England.

His team demonstrated a game that teaches young children to write computer code by asking them to control fish in an aquarium. Eike Falkenberg, a 30-year-old German graduate student, liked the way Gates picked up the device his team demonstrated and started playing with it. "He’s still like a little boy when he sees new technology," he said. continue reading

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Bretford, Inc., the leading supplier of high quality technology and media furniture that improves how people work and learn, today introduced the KR Series Conference and Training Room Tables. The new tables support technology tools like laptops or projectors and come in a wide range of sizes and shapes that can be reconfigured to accommodate different types of training applications in the same multi-purpose room.  Worthington Direct is an authorized dealer for Bretford and all of their quality technology and media furniture.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com or call 800-599-6636 to get a great price on these quality products.

Dave Smith, product manager for Bretford, Inc. explained, “Traditional tables were designed at a time when people took ‘paper and pen’ notes, but today most professionals use laptops and other technology tools during meetings. Additionally, most training rooms need to support varying meeting sizes, like 30 people for a product launch in the morning then 12 people for an interactive session in the afternoon.” He explained, “The KR Series Tables easily handle both of these challenges. They offer a wide range of data and power options for active technology users and their modular designs can easily be reconfigured depending on the training size and style.”

The new tables are ideal in business and educational environments — for sales representatives training on the newest products or students learning the latest lesson, for example. The tables come in rectangular, trapezoid and half-round styles, which can be used individually or positioned together. Applications range from large auditorium and traditional training set-ups to more interactive U-shape or circle configurations. Additionally, each table includes ganging clips that easily attach and separate to hold the various configurations together.

The KR Tables feature a wide range of optional power and data accessories for laptops and other technology products, as well as easy-to-use cord management to help keep the work surface clean and clear. The CFPS Electrical Units mount to the inside of the modesty panel to provide four electrical outlets, while the PowerHouse Monuments mount through the grommet holes in the top of the table so the power and RJ-45 data jacks are at the work surface. Additionally, the relocatable Parrot Power Clamp easily mounts to the back edge of the tables with an overhang that reveals four electrical outlets and two pairs of RJ-45 data jacks.

All of the new tables fold flat and lock in the folded position for convenient and safe transport and storage. They come in a wide variety of colors and finishes to enhance the beauty of the table while minimizing the long-term effects of repeated use throughout the years. continue reading

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 Worthington Direct knows education is important: We Read to stay current on what schools need to create a thriving educational environment.  We Write our guarantee of 100% satisfaction on everything we do.  And we use Math to save you the most on great educational furniture products.  Visit our website today and you’ll see why Worthington Direct is an A+.  www.worthingtondirect.com

 As part of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s plans for back-to-school coverage, we are asking students, parents and teachers to e-mail us a statement that is 50 words or less on why education is important. It can be an expression from a student to his parents, teachers or siblings; a parent to child; or a teacher to students. Submissions will be considered for publication in print or at Sun-Sentinel.com in August. continue reading

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Wow!  Thank you very much!  What great service.

Take care,

D.W.

Spokane, WA

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Crystal McNerney, a mother of four, considers herself an expert on creating spaces that kids can enjoy. She also understands how to design a creative, cozy room for kids on a budget.
McNerney, of Organizing And Decorating Kid’s Rooms, did just that when she designed a room shared by three of her four boys.
McNerney is like many parents who create theme rooms in which their children enjoy sleeping and playing.
There are several avenues that a parent can take when creating a theme room. But before you start stocking up on Elmo bedroom paraphernalia, get a few ideas from parents who have managed to create a room their kids enjoy without breaking the bank.
Get Kids Involved
“They couldn’t decide on a color,” McNerney said of her three older boys. Her children are 4, 7, 9 and 16.
To appease everyone, she said she sectioned the room off, using colors that the boys agreed upon — blue and white. She also used a border that contained red, yellow and green as accent colors.
She also got her sons involved by allowing them to put their handprints on the walls using the accent colors.
“They loved looking at it,” she said. “They would put their hands up there to see how much they grew.”
Although many parents decorate rooms using TV or movie characters, McNerney does not advise doing so.
“You want something that will hold a child’s interest,” she said. “They don’t usually hold interest in characters that long.”
Getting Great Ideas
With this in mind, she suggested that parents talk with their child about interests and favorite colors to come up with a theme.
McNerney also said she does not recommend buying themed furniture for a room.
“I would not suggest buying furniture, but instead pulling in bedding, curtains and accessories,” she said. “Go after sturdy furniture that will grow with a child. You can make any furniture go with a theme.”
McNerney said buying SpongeBob headboards and kid recliners do not really make “financial sense.”
Choosing Furniture
Misti Norusis, of Wish Rooms, disagrees. She believes that a child’s space should be created with kids’ furniture.
Additionally, she said hand-painted children’s furniture is extremely popular.
Norusis said that after ABC’s “Extreme Home Makeover” aired a show that included a fire engine theme room, she got numerous requests for the firefighter set.
Some of the other sets Wish Room offers include All Star Sports, Our Little Angel and the Noah’s Ark Collection, Princess Sets and Rock-A-My-Baby Furniture.
“The (Rock-A-My-Baby) sets are awesome for little girls as they provide space for a doll baby,” said Norusis.
She said pink is in with girls of all ages.
“We sell a lot of pink products and are constantly getting questions about them. For example, our most popular item overall is the girl’s pink camouflage sleeping bag,” she said.
Make Room For Learning
For educational purposes, Norusis said a space should be created in the room for a book display or art easels. Visit Worthington Direct’s online store today to see what your child’s room is missing. www.worthingtondirect.com
“Desks are real popular as there is a growing trend to replace the TV in children’s rooms with a computer and desk,” she said. “Roll-top desks made for kids are very popular and provide the functional use of a great desk with a bit of old-world charm.”
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We are in the midst of a heated national debate over whether or not high schools should try to prepare all students for college. I say yes, but I acknowledge that the no side has a good argument: Since at least a third of high schoolers don’t want to go to college, why not train them for the job market instead?
The suggestion makes sense, until you look carefully at what it takes to get a good job after high school these days. Those of us who support the college-for-all approach are marking up the latest “Diplomas Count” report from Education Week — “Ready for What? Preparing Students for College, Careers, and Life After High School” available at edweek.org — and waving it in front of our friends on the college-not-for-all side. It shows that the latest data are running in our favor.
The Ed Week team, led by Editorial Projects in Education Research Center director Christopher B. Swanson and managing editor for special projects Lynn Olson, sum up their conclusion in one sentence: “Today’s high school graduates are entering a world in which they’ll need at least some college to gain access to decent-paying careers.”
Ed Week combined two national data bases to show the educations and salaries of workers in five different job zones, defined by education, training and experience requirements. In Job Zone 3, where the median annual income is $35,672 nationally, 63 percent of job holders — such as electricians, funeral directors and legal secretaries — have some college education, including 26 percent who have a bachelor’s degree. The next step up, Job Zone 4 (such as teachers, accountants and detectives) with a median annual income of $50,552, has 89 percent of job holders with some college, including 68 percent with a bachelor’s degree. Job Zone 5, including lawyers, engineers and school psychologists, has a median income of $59,113 and only 7 percent without some college or a bachelor’s degree.
In zone 2, median income $24,461, which includes retail sales clerks, sheet metal works and customer service representatives, 46 percent of job holders have some college, including 12 percent with bachelor’s degrees. In zone 1, median income $12,638, including waiters, cashiers and taxi drivers, 31 percent have some college including 7 percent with bachelor’s degrees.
Career and technical education programs in high school “can reduce high school dropout rates and increase short- and medium-term earnings for students,” the report says. But if high schools are going to have any chance of preparing students for decent jobs in a market where college-level skills are increasingly necessary, they have to increase academic rigor, forge stronger links to local labor markets and high-demand, high-skill jobs and make better connections to postsecondary education “so that students have the option of going directly into the workplace or continuing with their formal education,” the report says.
Educators have many factors to consider in making sure American students are prepared for whatever their futures may hold. Let Worthington Direct help by providing a one stop shop for all of your school furniture needs. Visit their online store at www.worthingtondirect.com.
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Students in high-quality school music education programs score higher on standardized tests compared to students in schools with deficient music education programs, according to a study published in last week’s issue of the Journal for Research in Music Education.

This is the first study ever to examine the quality of school music programs as a factor affecting test scores, independent of the socioeconomic level of the school or school district. The study comprised 4,739 elementary and middle school students in four U.S. regions and revealed a strong relationship between elementary (third- or fourth-grade) and middle school (eighth- or ninth-grade) students’ academic achievement and their participation in school music programs that differed based on quality. \

Whether you have future concerto musicians on you hands or maybe just want to give your students a boost on their test scores, Worthington Direct can help.  Make sure musicans have the proper chair pitch for insturment use, with the Choir/Musician Chair from KFI.  After all the hard work spent rehearsing, display your choir or orchestra proudly on Stages and Risers from Midwest Folding Products.  Visit Worthington Direct today at www.worthingtondirect.com.

Results from the elementary schools show: — Students in top-quality music programs scored 22 percent better in English and 20 percent better in mathematics than students in deficient music programs. — These academic differences were fairly consistent across geographic regions. — Students at the four elementary schools with high-quality music programs scored better than students participating in programs considered to be of lower quality. Results from the middle schools show: — Students in top-quality instrumental programs scored 19 percent higher in English than students in schools without a music program, and 32 percent higher in English than students in a deficient choral program. — Students in top-quality instrumental programs scored 17 percent higher in mathematics than children in schools without a music program, and 33 percent higher in mathematics than students in a deficient choral program. — Students at schools with excellent music programs had higher English test scores across the country than students in schools with low-quality music programs; this was also true when considering mathematics. — Students in all regions with lower-quality instrumental programs scored higher in English and mathematics than students who had no music at all. — Students who participated in low-quality choral programs generally scored the lowest.

"It is crucial to note that this project has revealed a relationship between quality music instruction and heightened academic performance," stated Dr. Christopher Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy and associate dean of the school of fine arts at the University of Kansas, and lead investigator for the study. "Clearly, music supports academic performance, and quality music programs are related to higher test scores."

Though the arts, including music education, were designated as a core academic subject by the No Child Left Behind Act, the act does not specify standards for arts education. Local communities and school districts continue to make curriculum decisions that emphasize instructional time for reading and math, which may well impinge on access to music and arts education. This study demonstrates the importance of considering music education programs in any definition of a quality curriculum, thereby ensuring that all children have equal opportunities to succeed in school.

"Music education provides a solid foundation for children, giving them benefits in childhood that lead to success in life," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. "School administrators, teachers and parents all agree that music and arts education contribute to children achieving their full potential, which is the purpose of our educational system and something we all care deeply about." continue reading

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Scientifically speaking, treatment options for students with attention deficits have long been limited. Outside of stimulant medication, and some behavior-modification strategies, few interventions have much of a research base to show that they can help.

That situation could change, though. Recent studies have shown that a computer-based training program developed in Sweden helps sharpen the “working memory” skills of children and teenagers with some form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. And, in the process, the studies show, the program can alleviate some of the problems they have with paying attention, controlling their impulses, and solving problems.

Having comfortable computer furniture that can accommodate those that will be using the computers is important.  Worthington Direct has a variety of computer furniture at great prices.  They carry Cluster Workstations by Paragon which are great for labs that want to maximize their space.  For individual computing, Worthington Direct also has Glass Top Stations by Royal Seating or Adjustable Crank Tables by Balt, which are wheelchair compatible.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today!

Working memory is the ability to keep information in mind and work with it at the same time. The brain calls on working memory, for example, when people solve mathematical problems or try to follow through on plans they’ve made. Experts believe that working memory can be particularly difficult for many people with ADHD, a condition that afflicts an estimated 3 percent to 5 percent of school-age children, as well as for people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries or strokes.

In a study published in 2004 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Neuroscience, Dr. Torkel F. Klingberg and his colleagues at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute gave the program to a group of attention-challenged Swedish adults, who used it for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for five weeks. Brain scans taken before and after the training showed activity in the regions that control working memory had increased after the training period, suggesting that the training might have produced physical changes in the brains of those subjects.

Studies Under Way in U.S.

A second report, published a year later in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which is also peer-reviewed, further bolstered the Swedish researchers’ case. That study, a randomized experiment involving 53 Swedish students with the disorder from age 7 to age 12, showed that pupils who underwent the same five-week training outperformed their control-group peers on a variety of tasks meant to measure working memory, self-control, attention, and problem-solving. Such randomized experiments are often referred to as the “gold standard” for research evaluations of educational interventions.

Results reported in March from the first U.S. study of the program, a small-scale trial involving 12 adolescent students, suggest the same improvement pattern. More studies are under way in this country at Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, and New York University. continue reading

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An intense game of red rover recently broke out at the elementary school. Kids raced across the dandelion-strewn grass with looks of sheer determination on their faces as they tried to plow through the linked arms of the other players.

The participants were elementary-aged students who are spending their summer at school, not for summer classes, but for child care. Out of necessity, schools are getting into the business of summer child care. Barnesville is in its third year. Hawley started a new school-run child-care program this year. 

Starting a child-care program takes special planning and require the use of trusted resources.  Let Worthington Direct help!  With a knowledgeable staff and great prices on all the of Early Learning Furniture you will need, you’re sure to provide excellent child-care services.  Visit their website at www.worthingtondirect.com and find everything and more in the Early Childhood Furniture section. 

"There’s so many parents that were looking for some sort of option in the summertime and they were not getting their needs met because the child-care centers and so on that are in this community are not big enough to hold all of the kids that need to be watched during the summer," said Steve Jordahl, Barnesville School District superintendent.

Phil Jensen, Hawley School District superintendent, helped start Barnesville’s program when he led that school. "There’s just a shortage, basically of day-care providers to begin with, and then that just gets multiplied when school is out," Jensen said. Before both programs started, school administrators consulted area child-care providers. "We did not want to go into competition with the existing day cares," Jensen said. "We’re not looking to take their business away from them, we’re looking to fill a need in the community."

Charlotte Nelson, owner of Grandma’s Lap Daycare, a home-based child-care service in Barnesville, says the school-run center is good for the community. She was involved in planning the program and said she hasn’t lost business to it. "It’s harder to have the school-age kids mixing with the littler ones," Nelson said. "You’re running yourself ragged to entertain each age group."

Melissa Keith, a home-based child-care provider in Hawley, worries about the program. "I think it could impact in a negative way but I know there are some providers that think it’s an OK thing because the older kids need more things to do in the summer," she said.

Both schools transport kids to summer activities like sports and music, which is harder for home-based providers to do. The programs also provide field trips and learning activities. "We want to teach them things, too, and kind of reinforce some of the learning that maybe they’ve learned throughout the school year," said Rachel Jonason, Barnesville Kids Club coordinator.

In Hawley recently, Cody Bourcher and Brandon Marvig were playing with addition and subtraction flashcards. Soon a group of students formed, wanting to play. "With this many kids and this many age ranges, you really have to keep an eye on it and make sure they’re all engaged and having fun together," said Paula Boucher, Hawley School District childcare coordinator. continue reading

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Student achievement in reading and math has increased since the No Child Left Behind Act was enacted in 2002, according to the most comprehensive and thorough study to date of the results of state tests administered as part of the landmark federal education law.

In addition, the number of states in which achievement gaps among groups of students have narrowed far exceeds the number of states in which gaps widened since 2002, according to Answering the Question that Matters Most: Has Student Achievement Increased Since No Child Left Behind?, a report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy (CEP).

The study is unique as it includes verified data from all 50 states – much of which is available for the first time in the report – and investigates achievement trends both before and after the passage of NCLB. The report also limits its analysis to testing data that is comparable from year-to-year, eliminating data in grades and subjects where states have made significant changes to their assessment systems.

The report also uses two methods for evaluating achievement, including the percentage of students considered proficient – the primary measure of adequate yearly progress under NCLB – and effect sizes, a measure based on average test scores that addresses some of the limitations of the percentage proficient measure. Using either method, the report finds that the number of states showing achievement gains since 2002 is far greater than the number showing a decline.

In addition, yearly gains are generally greater after 2002 in states where comparable data prior to 2002 was available. However, the report notes that the gains cannot be attributed directly to No Child Left Behind, as considerable federal, state and local reform efforts have all been underway prior to and since 2002. "American educators and students were asked to raise academic achievement, and they have done so," said Jack Jennings, president & CEO of the independent, private nonprofit Center on Education Policy. "The weight of evidence indicates that state test scores in reading and mathematics have increased overall since No Child Left Behind was enacted.

However, there should be no rush to judgment as there may be many factors contributing to the increased achievement." The study identified several possible reasons for the results, including increased learning, teaching to the test, more lenient tests, scoring or data analyses, and changes in the populations tested. "Any or all of these factors in combination could be contributing to these trends," the report indicates. continue reading

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