Cleveland Public School
Cleveland, MN
To better serve its 500-student population, Minnesota’s Cleveland Public School (CPS) planned to construct an addition and refresh its existing spaces. The rural PK–12 school turned to Demco for help reimagining its classrooms, media center, breakout spaces, makerspace, and more.
CPS wanted to incorporate input from students, teachers, and administrators into its designs. To solicit meaningful feedback about how users would interact with the furnishings, Demco created pilot spaces with sample furniture; this allowed community members to try pieces firsthand and react to specific features. In combination with the original vision laid out by the CPS project team, this insight guided Demco’s designers in drafting a plan for each space (including specialized areas like the school nurse’s office).
“We met with a number of school furniture sales reps and we immediately knew we wanted to partner with Demco,” said Brian J. Phillips, Superintendent of Cleveland Public School. “From the very start they helped myself and others feel at ease with the layout of the process. [Demco] took the time to meet with our teaching staff to get a really good sense of what they were looking for. They followed up with bringing in actual pieces of the furniture for the staff to test,” Phillip said. “They developed a handout with pictures of what the rooms would look like for all the classrooms and other places such as the commons areas, makerspace, and STEM classrooms.”
To encourage collaboration among students, CPS prioritized flexible, mobile furniture in their classrooms and breakout spaces. They chose a variety of seating options to support student choices. From soft seating like the Brown Sales Colorful Overstuffed Bean Bag Chair to active seating like the Smith System® Oodle®, students have the freedom to pick the type of seating that helps them learn best.
Cleveland Public School is the “Home of the Clippers” and wanted to incorporate school spirit throughout their spaces. Demco selected furniture in their school colors (orange, black, and gray), complementing the clipper ship mural that serves as the focal point of their new library. Infusing each space with their unique identity promotes school pride and makes students feel at home.
Like many K–12 schools, CPS has increasingly emphasized STEM curriculum. To stand behind this commitment, they established a makerspace in their school. Demco’s designers incorporated durable furniture from DIVERSIFIED SPACES™ including the 4-Station Workbench and Tractor Stools, along with different configurations of Smith System Cascade® Mega-Cabinets to keep all the new supplies organized.
Superintendent Phillips shared his appreciation for Demco’s project management and installation services, “[Demco] followed up after their meetings with administration to ensure we stayed within our budget for this project. Even at the end of the project when the construction was delayed, they found a place to store our furniture until the spaces were all ready for delivery. They delivered the furniture just like a moving company and set up all the furniture in the right locations.”
Overall, the CPS community has been thrilled with the results Demco delivered. “We couldn’t have been happier with the process and the professionalism of the Demco team,” Phillips said. “We highly recommend them if you have a similar project in the planning.”
Explore the products used in this space
