“Come in and sit wherever you like” is not the sentence you hear most teachers in an elementary school say. More often than not, classrooms can be constrained environments with one size desk and one size chair to fit all student shapes, sizes and learning preferences.

This is not the case on the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus, where students in all grade levels are encouraged to pick their favorite seating or standing option for maximum attention and learning.

“Just like you have as favorite pen or coffee mug, students can make decisions based on how they feel that day,” said Campus Head Peggy Campbell-Rush. “Learning is active and involved and fully embraces the brain-body connection.”

Called proprioceptive input or vestibular stimulation, this science shows the body needs to move to keep the brain active. So, when students sit for more than their age plus two minutes, their brains start to fade, resulting in less attention toward the lesson and teacher.

The Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus has blazed trails in the realm of seating options under Campbell-Rush’s leadership. Today, a wide selection of move-to-learn seating is the hallmark of every classroom on campus. Several years ago, Campbell-Rush began introducing small movement cushions and standing desks to classroom repertoires. Today, students can choose from those resources plus many new ones including couches, rocker stools, balls and more. The same trends in classroom resources are happening on the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus, where students have enjoyed a plethora of new seating styles.

The result? Learning is up, and discipline needs are down, Campbell-Rush said.

“Students are engaged and teachers are getting the most out of all their students,” Campbell-Rush said. “It gives new meaning to the phrase, ‘move it or lose it.’ On the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus we are up and moving.”