Lake Elsinore USD
Lake Elsinore Unified School District Responds to the CTE Trend with Renovated Active Learning Classrooms
Understanding what drives the need for change
Spanning over 144 square miles of Southwest Riverside County, the Lake Elsinore Unified School District serves a diverse community that includes urban centers like Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake alongside rural areas such as Lakeland Village and Horsethief Canyon. With nearly 22,000 students across 23 schools, the district recognized that their traditional classroom environments weren't meeting the evolving needs of 21st-century learners.
As Career and Technical Education programs gained momentum and active learning methodologies became essential, LEUSD faced a critical question: how could they transform static, lecture-based classrooms into dynamic spaces that foster collaboration, creativity, and multiple learning styles? The district needed environments that could accommodate everything from first-grade discovery activities to high school CTE programs, all while supporting 30-35 students per classroom in spaces that encouraged movement, interaction, and hands-on learning.
How we brought the vision to life
Working alongside Architecture 4 Education, Tangram developed a comprehensive furniture strategy that would support the district's vision for active learning environments. Rather than implementing a one-size-fits-all solution, the team carefully curated products from five leading manufacturers—Steelcase, KI, Tenjam, HON, and Norva Nivel—to create a toolkit of flexible elements that could adapt to diverse teaching and learning styles.
The design centered on supporting multiple learning postures within each classroom. Mobile seating paired with height-adjustable tables allowed for quick reconfiguration from individual work to collaborative groups. Perching-height stations encouraged brief, focused interactions, while soft ottomans could migrate throughout the space, creating impromptu gathering areas or quiet retreat zones near whiteboards for individual ideation. This thoughtful layering of furniture types meant teachers could seamlessly transition between lecture, group work, and hands-on activities without the constraints of fixed desks and chairs.
1 professionals brought this vision to life
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