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Flex Classrooms: Designs to Meet Changing Needs

by William Albinson
November/December 2014
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/flex-classrooms-designs-to-meet-changing-needs/5022044/

Child development centers frequently deal with shifts in enrollment numbers between age groups. Sometimes at a center’s start-up, the number of ­children and their ages do not match the targeted enrollment. Or, at age two, more parents may seek child care for the first time, inflating the needs for that age group. Public schools, by expanding or decreasing their own services for preschoolers, can also be a factor in a center’s enrollment.

Building Flexibility into Classrooms

In a recent feasibility study for a new child development center it was ­apparent that these shifts could best be addressed by building out a number of the classrooms to be flexible in accommodating different age groups.
Some classroom components can be used by either group, while others may be specific to only one of the two age groups. Flexibility works best between infant/toddler (I/T) groups and two-year-olds, or between two-year-olds and preschoolers.

A flexible classroom meets the space and facility requirements so that either of two age groups can function
and flourish in that classroom without reconfiguration of the permanent features.

Capital Costs and Staffing

Flexibility in classrooms requires some additional capital costs, but in our feasibility study we determined that the capital cost difference would be less ...

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