Romeo Community Schools

An Inviting and Engaging Place to Learn

The physical learning environment can make a big difference in student engagement and outcomes. That’s why Romeo Community Schools (RCS) came to NBS when it was time to reimagine classrooms, media centers, admin areas and resource rooms across their ten schools. The vibrant and flexible new spaces are designed to meet the needs of today’s students and teachers.

With a rich history in northern Macomb County spanning 150 years, RCS has established a reputation for educational excellence and progress in southeast Michigan. When a bond levy provided the opportunity to refurbish aging facilities, they wanted to build on that tradition while creating technology-ready spaces that looked to the future. Primary goals included delivering equitable and personalized learning experiences for students and attracting new families and staff to the district. They also wanted to update and expand specialized areas for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), music, art and other electives.

NBS provided furniture selection and finishings for the redesigned spaces, while French Associates did the architecture. RCS knew they wanted to work with NBS based on their positive experiences in prior projects. “Our partnership with NBS has been great for almost 5 years now. They offer their expertise in a collaborative manner that supports our vision and desire to have dynamic spaces that support teaching and learning in many ways” Shares Dr. Robinson, RCS Superintendent. The new initiative needed to stay within the bond budget. To get buy-in from teachers and staff, NBS worked with teacher committees when designing classroom spaces and made final furniture selections to meet the budget and teacher feedback.

The newly refurbished classrooms, media centers and admin spaces are designed for flexibility, comfort and productive learning. Design elements are carried across all buildings for a unified and consistent look, with pops of red to reflect the RCS brand.

In elementary classrooms, each student has their own desk space. Smith System furniture is easy to move, so classrooms can be reconfigured for different learning activities. Special care was taken in designing early childhood classrooms for the “Young 5s.” Calming corners provide a safe area for students who need extra space and attention.

Media centers were completely reimagined, with plenty of soft seating and collaborative tables where students can work together. At Romeo Middle School, students can hook their Chromebooks up to large monitors at tables designed for group work. Powell Ninth Grade Academy includes a variety of collaborative spaces throughout the school for small group work, informal study and hangouts, and after-school tutoring. A new Virtual Academy Lab provides computer workstations for students in the virtual learning program.

RCS is thrilled with how the process went and outcome. Robert Murray, RCS Director of Teaching and Learning, shares, “working with NBS on our elementary redesign and specialty spaces overhaul has been an outstanding endeavor. From start to finish, the experts at NBS have offered the necessary guidance and support for us to achieve our goals, not to mention high quality, durable furnishings.”