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Where to Start?
There is a whole world of school furniture out there.
While budget and space considerations will determine
the extent to which you can accessorize, school chairs
and school tables/desks are the most important school
furniture items, as well as the ones that are used (and
abused!) most by students.
Let’s take a look at those items on the following pages.
School Furniture Guide 2
Have a Seat!
The basics on school chairs
Studies show that students between the
ages of 13–18 years old spend about 78%
of their time sitting down. But the truth is
that even preschoolers spend a considerable
amount of time in their chairs. So a lot of
thought needs to go in to choosing the best
school chair for your classrooms.
Say What?
A little terminology…
When talking about school chairs, there are some technical words that come
up pretty often. So a little school furniture terminology will help make things
clear.
School chair seats are manufactured out of one of three materials: wood, soft
plastic and hard plastic. Wood means just that, wood. Soft plastic is the collo-
quial name for polyethylene and polypropylene. Polyethylene has a lot of give;
polypropylene, while not actually bendable, does conform somewhat so that
students can lean back a bit in their chairs. Hard plastic is far more rigid than
its soft counterpart and has no bend whatsoever.
The legs and supports of school chairs are usually made of one of three gauges
of steel: 18, 16, and 14 gauge. Contrary to what one might assume, the lower
the gauge the stronger the steel, so if you’re looking for the strongest supports
around, you would look for chairs with 14 gauge steel.
School Furniture Guide 3
doWn to SiZe
How high should school chairs really be?
Ideally, children should be able to plant their feet firmly on
the floor even when sitting with their backs against their
chairs. This position minimizes fidgeting and provides proper
back support. Practically speaking, there will always be some
children whose feet dangle when they sit all the way back,
or who will have to lean forward if they want their feet to
reach the floor. Use the following size guide to ensure that as
many students as possible have school chairs that are height-
appropriate for them. The split percentages allow for children
of varying heights to sit in the optimal position for learning
within the same classroom.
If you’re looking for the strength of the metal-plastic combination but want the safety of a one-piece
unit, you might want to try a school chair made of a mixture of soft and hard plastic. These chairs
are made of a one-piece, soft plastic shell (meaning the back and seat) that is ultrasonically welded
to a hard plastic base. They are a bit more expensive than the standard soft plastic preschool chair,
but cost significantly less than a metal-plastic combo.
In most Pre–K classrooms, the same general areas are used for such varying activities as circle time,
arts and crafts, eating and even sleeping. That makes it necessary to have chairs that can be moved
and stored easily. So look for chairs that stack easily and in quantity. Make sure that they can be
pushed or pulled without too much effort as well. This is especially important for 5–6 year olds,
who will be expected to clear away the chairs when they’re “on duty”.
School Furniture Guide 6
Kiddie Korner
Preschool–Kindergarten: Tables
For preschoolers to kindergarten, you want to look for tables that
measure from about 19–23 inches in height. Some tables come with
adjustable legs, so you can raise and lower them to suit your needs.
Generally speaking, children up to kindergarten age sit between
four and eight to a table. If you’re looking at a rectangular table,
calculate approximately 20 inches for each child. For round tables,
figure that between eight and ten children can fit around a table
with a 48 inch diameter.
Although small children are not necessarily harsh on their school
furniture—even their scissors tend to have round edges—they can
be pretty messy. Glue, crayons, markers, glitter and paint will all
“decorate” your tables liberally. So, although you may not need
tables with hard plastic tops, make sure you buy ones with a high
quality laminate to make clean-up as hassle-free as possible.
The shape of your school tables
will depend a great deal on the
structure of your classroom.
While many schools use standard
round or rectangular tables, there
are others that prefer kidney-
shaped tables, which allow all the
children to have an equal view
of the teacher. If it is important
to you to be able to push tables
together, then consider trapezoidal
tables. Some companies, like Hertz
Furniture, carry specialty tables,
like clove or flower-shaped.
School Furniture Guide 7
The Next Stage
Elementary School Chairs
Starting with first grade, young students are expected to sit and concentrate for far longer periods of
time. Therefore, ensuring maximum comfort and minimum fidgeting is a top priority.
Most standard elementary school chairs are made from soft plastic. These are both more
comfortable and less expensive; however, they are not as durable as their hard counterparts. If you’re
operating under budget constraints—or it’s important to you that students have school chairs
they can lean back in—then a few features that will give your soft plastic chairs an added boost of
durability are listed below.
Back Supports
These are steel supports that run
all the way up the back so that the
chair will stand up to the pressure of
students leaning against it.
Underseat Brackets
Check to see that the school chair you
purchase has supporting brackets
under the chair seat.
16 Gauge Steel
Ideally, the steel supports should be
made of at least 16 gauge steel. If you
can find 14 gauge steel, all the better.
Thirdly, unlike the elementary grades, most schools pro- An economical choice—both in terms of money and
vide individual desks from 7th grade and up. These come space—is a chair-desk combination unit. Used mostly in
in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending largely on high schools (and universities), these come with a choice
whether your school is geared for independent learning, of both soft and hard plastic chairs, and the desks usu-
cooperative learning or a combination of both. Double ally come with a choice of tops in terms of both color
desks, mentioned earlier, make it easy for students to and material. Some desks fold down; others have what
organize into partners. Trapezoidal desks allow students is called a tablet-arm, which means that the student has
to sit individually, but can be conveniently joined to- something to lean on, too. Many come with optional
gether to form semi-circles, hexagons or octagons for book baskets, either under the seat or attached to the
group learning. Individual desks, which you see in most side for convenient access to school materials.
classrooms, promote independent learning. Some have
an enlarged surface to fit large textbooks, laptops, and Due, perhaps, to the academic responsibility junior-
to provide additional working space for study partners. high and high-school students are expected to assume,
it is easy to neglect classroom aesthetics and to focus on
Last, students in 7th–12th grades have a lot more school pragmatics when planning school furniture for these
materials for each class, as well as school supplies. That grades. Don’t make that unfortunate mistake. It’s pre-
means that it is crucial to have school furniture that cisely because of the heavy workload they carry that an
provides a storage solution for all their stuff. Some attractive academic environment is so important. School
schools prefer chairs with attached bookshelves or furniture, including desks but especially chairs, comes
baskets, as this gives students a convenient place to store in a variety of colors. Navy blue and burgundy are cur-
their things yet eliminates the tendency to fidget with rently the most popular, but you can find chairs in such
them, as they are safely under their seats. Other schools unique colors as turquoise, cranberry and teal, as well
prefer under-the-desk storage, which allows students as in all the primary colors. For classrooms with a color
easy access to whatever they may need. Wire book racks scheme that is both classy and consistent, Educational
are great for students who will be storing pencil cases, Edge™ offers a whole line of completely color-coordinat-
books and notebooks, as they offer the best visibility to ed furniture. And if you’re looking for school furniture
both student and teacher. Individual pens and pencils, that is both unusually strong and uniquely designed, try
however, will fall through the mesh. If this is a concern the Inspiration line manufactured by Academia.
for you, consider open-front book boxes. These allow
School Furniture Guide 11
the FiniShing touch
School Chair Frame Finishes
Now that you’ve selected the height,
material, and type of leg you want
your school chairs to have, it’s time
to decide on the frame finish. There
are three types of frame finishes for
school chairs. All are rust-resistant,
unless of course you leave them out
in the rain.
Visit www.HertzFurniture.com
your source for School Furniture!