The district will upgrade the furniture in freshman campus as a part of the district-wide furniture refresh funded primarily by the $1.23 billion bond voters approved in 2023. There will only be construction in the library, which will not be circulating books for the rest of the year.
“Our teachers work really hard to build instructional experiences for our students,” freshman campus principal Amanda Werneke said. “[The furniture refresh] will enhance that [by] giving teachers more flexibility and students more comfort.”
Along with new furniture, the library will receive bookshelves, circulation desk and flooring. There will also be layered seating in the library and classrooms, with four-top tables in the front and high-tops in the back.
“It will look modern,” librarian Shannon Whiteley said. “They call it a furniture refresh, [and] it really is going to refresh the space and make it more up to date. Students want spaces that look visually interesting, and this refresh will do that.”
The campus will open a Writing Center in the English hallway. Upperclassmen in the National English Honor Society will staff the room and provide feedback about writing to freshmen. It will be open before and after school; additional times are still being worked out.
“It was timed beautifully,” English teacher Cassie Madewell said. “We wanted to do this thing for a while; a room freed up, and we were getting new furniture. We’re hoping this has a lot of positive impact on student learning.”
A committee made of Werneke, Whiteley, Madewell and assistant principal Richard Sulfstede decided on the furniture over the summer. After narrowing down which company the campus would buy furniture from, the group and department chairs picked from a handful of options. New changes include wheels on student chairs and stools for teachers.
“There are nerves with things like this,” Madewell said. “How will [the furniture] fit in the classroom? What is it going to look like? Most of all: Will this work?”
Though some middle schools have already undergone the furniture refresh, the freshman campus and Lewisville High School will be the first high schools. There is no set date for the main campus to begin its refresh.
“We’re really excited for this great opportunity,” Werneke said. “We’re incredibly thankful for the district voters — it’s a really big expense, and we don’t take that lightly. We look forward to beginning the process.”
