LOS ALAMITOS, CA — During this past summer, various teachers packed up their classrooms to move for class remodeling. Now that school is back in session, students and teachers are experiencing the outcome of the remodeled rooms.

The temporary brown portable buildings, which several teachers used as classrooms during the rebuilding of the 100s buildings, have been taken down. These teachers have now been moved to newly renovated rooms across campus. This relocation has allowed them to personalize their new space, a first for many teachers since arriving at Los Al.

“I feel like [the renovations] made the room easier to decorate since my old room had sticker marks on the walls, and it didn’t feel like my room because teachers had decorated it before,” Mrs. Dunkel, who recently moved into the 100s building, said. “I [feel] like I [have a] new start to decorate my room.”

What renovations were made to the rooms?

Design renovations were made to update the interior of the rooms. The old carpets were pulled from the ground so that new carpets could be installed. In addition to the carpets, cork walls were put into the renovated rooms so teachers could quickly put up posters and student projects around the room. The implication of these new interior improvements has created a cleaner and more effective teaching environment for the teachers.

“I’ve got a bigger whiteboard and the whole cork wall is new, which is cool,” Williams said.

Beyond the design renovations, new projectors have also been added to the renovated classrooms. The projectors can wirelessly stream media to their screen from anywhere in the classroom. Teachers are ecstatic that they no longer need to be confined to their desks to use their projectors.

“I like the projector because I just need to press a button on the wall instead of using the remote” Dunkel said, “I can project my lessons wirelessly from the back of my room so that I can teach from anywhere.”

How have the room sizes affected teachers?

Most teachers who moved from the portables into the renovated rooms have received a larger space than their prior ones. Having a large room has allowed many teachers to explore more creative liberties when setting up their chairs and organizing the furniture in their rooms. Teachers have been excited about the larger rooms since they have more space to personalize and decorate them however they like.

“It is nice having more space; my old room was super tight trying to get through the aisles,” Mrs. Yoshihara-Ha, who teaches in the 300 building, said.

Not all of the teachers who were moved received larger rooms, though. Mrs. Dunkel moved from the 400s building to the 100s building, which led her to be in a room almost half the size of her prior one. The change hasn’t been negative for her, though, since now she can be closer and more connected with her students during her classes.

“I can be everywhere [in the room] instead of a classroom where everyone feels so far apart,” Dunkel said.

How have the renovations affected the students?

Students who were at the school prior to the building renovations have expressed their indifference to the updated classrooms. Many students feel that the renovations did not change their learning experience and, compared to the old rooms, did not have a prominent effect on them.

“The changes didn’t affect me, I barely noticed them in the first place,” Nick Carlton, a senior, said.