SMARTdesks: "American Rescue Plan" for Schools Ignites Opportunity for STEM Learning

ROCKAWAY, N.J., April 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education released guidance on April 23 for how school districts should plan to spend billions in COVID relief dollars that will soon be available. A total of $168 billion is reserved for public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education to safely reopen and mitigate learning loss.

Under the American Rescue Plan, "Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the local educational agency that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors" is an allowable expense. As students come back to revamped classrooms, STEM learning will become paramount in learning experience design. SMARTdesks is the industry leader in designing completely customized and flexible furnishings for learners.

Just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, SMARTdesks built a bespoke lab design for the Chatham public middle school. The Innovation Lab houses a Robotics, CAD Computer Aided Drafting, Digital Game Design courses. To accommodate the curriculum, the keyboard and CPU needed to be installed under the tabletop to preserve working space: the problem that SMARTdesks monitor mount and CPU holder hardware solved perfectly.

Chatham's Director of Instructional Technology, Danielle Dagounis, said of SMARTdesks, "Apparently if you want collaborative computer desks, they're like unicorns. Nobody really makes them, except for you guys." Integrating technology is standard practice for SMARTdesks. Jeffrey Korber, Founder and CEO, said, "We have a wide selection of products that have room for customization for technology. That's our niche. The bigger guys can't do that. They just mass produce A, B or C, while we can pull different spices off of the spice shelf and season the soup the way you want it, including a full range of colors and textures and finishes. If you need to match existing finishes in the space, we can do that, too."

According to Dagounis, Chatham Middle School is now inspiring other school districts to improve their STEM learning environments. Dagounis said, "Other people are now coming in from other districts, and they are asking 'where did you go to find these tables?'  Because you want the tops clean, and you only want the monitor on the top. We need the workspace. The kids are engaged. They're learning with joy. What more could you want?"

About SMARTdesks:
SMARTdesks works hand in hand with clients to furnish safe learning spaces for in-person, hybrid, and remote learning. Learn more at https://smartdesks.com.

SOURCE Smartdesks

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