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ODP Business Solutions Workspace Interiors | ACC Newsletter Article
Farmington School District Creates Collaborative Spaces to Support Student Achievement.
The Farmington School District in Farmington, Michigan, wanted to set students up for success by creating more collaborative workspaces in their schools. ODP Business Solutions™ Workspace Interiors helped the district take full advantage of the unused spaces, transforming them into special areas for everything from teamwork to quiet reading.
ODP Business Solutions™ Workspace Interiors helped the district take full advantage of the unused spaces, transforming them into special areas for everything from teamwork to quiet reading. With some of the district’s buildings dating back to the 1940s, the administrators try to optimize areas that are underutilized. Recently, that meant embarking on a project to turn underused locations at other schools into collaborative workspaces. Administrators chose Warner Middle School as the first facility for the new collaborative spaces. Particularly for this school, the new spaces would give students and staff additional working areas, empowering everyone to gather in new places.
Until the project, students gathered in circles in underutilized areas, such as hallways, T-junctions, and the front of the gym.
When they began the project, they started with three goals:
- 1. Efficiency: Foster imagination and creativity in spaces where students and teachers can collaborate more effectively than in traditional classroom settings
- Control: Enhance the school’s interior environment to energize teachers and students and yield greater learning integration
- Cost savings: Maximize each school’s real estate by doing more with the spaces they have.
Workspace Interiors defined the different spaces, including:
- An empty space in the hallway, which now has soft seating, modular tables, and storage
- A hallway recording space where students record videos on a new curved green wall for computer-generated backgrounds
- A third space that had built-in seats along the walls, so Workspace Interiors added soft seating and tables to make full use of the space
- The gym hallway, which had minimal seating and a large, underused space and is now one of the most prized areas for gathering before events or in breakout groups
The new collaborative locations provide flexibility and movable furniture compared to those cramped, tight spaces. The new areas can accommodate everything from small-team work to whole-class sessions. The collaborative workspaces are a result of the teamwork and relationship between the district and Workspace Interiors. Students, teachers, and staff all benefit from the yearlong project.
Workspace Interiors leveraged the Region 4 cooperative contract to provide strategic value and time savings to the district. The cooperative contract is the result of a bid from this lead agency and includes language that enables the school district to use compliant bidding processes that meet the procurement standard. It provided significant time efficiencies and reduced the cost of goods and services for this project.
The collaborative workspaces are a result of the teamwork and relationship between the district and Workspace Interiors. Students, teachers, and staff all benefit from the project The yearlong project ran in two phases. Between November 2021 and October 2022, Workspace Interiors performed these activities and more:
- Site visits
- Collaborative meetings
- Presentation of design ideas
- Demo space creation
- Furniture ordering
- Delivery and installation coordination
Workspace Interiors leveraged the Region 4 cooperative contract to provide strategic value and time savings to the district. The cooperative contract is the result of a bid from this lead agency and includes language that enables the school district to use compliant bidding processes that meet the procurement standard. It provided significant time efficiencies and reduced the cost of goods and services for this project.
Effective collaboration delivers for the school community.
Warner Middle School was ideal for new collaborative spaces, so it was the first of the schools where the district will create them. Workspace Interiors team members are already visiting other schools to begin planning. At Workspace Interiors, we have the unique ability to offer OMNIA Partners members increased purchasing power through our partnership. Alongside OMNIA Partners and our key manufacturing partners, Workspace Interiors delivered excellent value overall by providing innovative product solutions and exceptional service, all under the OMNIA Region 4 contract.
Workspace Interiors is here to support you. Workspace Interiors provides total turnkey solutions that suit your unique requirements, and we can manage any or all parts of the process.
“ODP Business Solutions™ Workspace Interiors provided us with flexibility, warmth, and welcoming spaces for our students to be comfortable in their learning, which allows teachers to be innovative with their collaborative groups.”
- Kelly Kaminski Principal Warner Middle School
ABOUT ODP Business Solutions AND OMNIA PARTNERS
ODP Business Solutions has more than 25 years under their belt serving the public sector by delivering products and services. Participants can utilize the OMNIA Partners cooperative contract with ODP Business Solutions to save time and money on workspace interiors. Discover the entire OMNIA Partners cooperative contract portfolio today for all your procurement needs. Not a participant? Join us today.
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