In the past six years, science has slipped as a priority in public schools while reading and mathematics have grown dominant. But in coming years, experts say, the same federal law that elevated reading and math could spark a resurgence of science in the classroom.

The 2002 No Child Left Behind law required states to test students in science starting in the 2007-08 year, on top of reading and math assessments mandated from the start. Virginia has given science tests since 1998, but the exams are new for Maryland and the District. (Separately, Maryland tests high school students in biology as a graduation requirement.) Unlike the reading and math test results, science scores won't be used to grade schools for accountability.

But education leaders predict that the scores will matter when disseminated to the public. At least six states, including Maryland, released their first science scores this fall. The first science scores from D.C. schools will be released later this year. Overall results from the new tests "are not very good," said Francis Q. Eberle, executive director of the National Science Teachers Association in Arlington. "As a matter of fact, they're pretty dismal. And it really shouldn't surprise anybody," he said, because science as a topic "has really gone off the instructional radar."

In New Hampshire and Rhode Island, according to news reports, three-quarters of students failed the first science exams. But in Maryland, more than three-fifths of those tested passed inaugural science tests in grades 5 and 8. Mary Thurlow, state coordinator for science, said she was "pleasantly surprised," considering that many schools "were not teaching science as often as they should."

Science advocates recommend 45 minutes to an hour of science instruction daily starting in upper elementary grades. But many elementary and middle schools now offer half as much science as they did before the law was enacted. Middle schools that used to teach a full year of science and social studies now may offer a half-year of each. Elementary schools have squeezed the two subjects into one block of time to make room for more reading and math. continue reading

It’s almost too E-Z! The E-Z Sort® mail sorter supports up to 500 lbs. on extra-thick 1-1/2" steel legs. The table surface adjusts from 28" to 36" high and includes a shelf that has a 14" clearance and 150 lb. capacity for additional storage space. Sorter Module features extra-wide 11" mail trays that form any combination of compartments up to 25. Can be used stand-alone or stacked. Includes 20 molded compartment trays, each with finger cutouts and label holders. Shelves adjust in 7/8" increments. Additional mail trays (Model 7753GR) available in cartons of 5.

Tired of the messy hand-off of mail?  Why not assign and label each compartment to a specific person and have them collect the sorted mail at their convenience.  General office memos can easily be inserted in each compartment or to save more time, use a small dry erase board to indicate that each person should pick up a memo and simply leave the stack on the handy table surface.

Aside from mail, the E-Z Sort unit can be used to organize paper or letterheads that are used on a daily basis.  Teachers can use the sorter in the classroom to help organize worksheets or assign compartments to students for great real-world training.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today and create a more organized workspace today!

Safco E-Z Sort Mailroom Furniture | Safco 7750 Series | Mailroom Sorting Furniture | Storage Furniture

Move up to 16 standard chairs at a time, eliminating costly and tedious hand carrying. The sensible solution to quick and easy setup time for seating at banquets, lectures, conventions and meetings. Tough and durable, the Stacked Chair Dolly accommodates most types of stack chairs. Heavy-duty steel frame with bonded vinyl handle. A real time-saver.

Move up to 10 folding chairs at a time, eliminating costly and tedious hand carrying. The sensible solution when setting up and taking down chairs at banquets, meetings, conventions and lectures. Raymond Products’ strong and durable construction allows this heavy duty dolly to last for years. Engineered to carry up to 180 pounds of chairs at one time. Heavy gauge steel hangers are red vinyl coated and act as a non-slip surface when hauling chairs.

 Don’t let the small size fool you. The strong and durable construction allows this MINI platform truck to handle big loads with ease. Steel rib reinforced for maximum performance on heavy loads. Item 3941 comes with removable push handle and brakes. Item 3942 comes with removable push handle, retaining handle and brakes.

Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today for all of these items and more from Raymond Products.  Ordering is easy and school or government purchase orders are accepted.

Raymond Dollies | Raymond Caddies | Chair Caddies

Worthington Direct is offering an extra discount of $10 Off per table during October, 2008.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today for great deals on all school furniture products.

Features:

• Standard 1-1/8" Black Chemsurf top fiberboard tops
• Acid & chemical resistant and waterproof
• Quality scratch resistant performance 2-1/4" standard tough
• Oak legs
• Model available with or without 2 storage compartments
• Apron standard on all tables
• Black boots to cap and protect table legs from hazardous acid spills 

 Science Lab Tables by National Public Seating | Science Tables

Ergonomics Case Study Olympia School District Cafeteria Tables

Background

Risk management from Educational School District 113 contacted the L&I Ergonomics Program for help at an Olympia elementary school. Custodians at the school were having difficulty folding the cafeteria tables to move them out of the way when cleaning floors. Several custodians had been injured while handling the tables in the recent past.

Custodians fold the 12 cafeteria tables at the school twice a day. In order to fold the tables, custodians had to bend over and lift at the center point of the table. They would then push the two halves of the table together until they locked in the upright position. Even the strongest custodian felt that the folding task was difficult to perform.

An L&I ergonomist helped measure the apparent weight of the tables during folding by having a custodian stand on an electronic scale while lifting. Custodians used more than 80 pounds of lifting force to fold the tables, which is well over recommended weight limits.

A number of solution options were proposed, and these included:

• Purchasing newer tables with standard folding mechanisms. Newer tables at another school could be folded up with 50 pounds for force. This would still be a bit of challenge for smaller custodians, or those with pre-existing injuries.

• Purchasing tables with a spring-assist device that would greatly reduce the folding effort.

• Purchasing smaller tables that convert to benches, which are easier to fold up and move out of the way. Since each table is half the size of a standard cafeteria table, this would result in handling twice as many tables.

Visit Worthington Direct online at http://www.worthingtondirect.com for great deals on cafeteria tables for your school lunchroom.  Check out the Web Specials which offer volume purchase deals on select cafeteria tables by Midwest Folding Products. 

MUSCATINE, IA--(Marketwire - August 19, 2008) - Rest in peace, dear #2 pencil. Same for you, 3-ring binder. For years, you were at the top of back-to-school shopping lists for students around the country. Instead, you have been replaced by ink cartridges, laptops and jump drives.

And the face of the American classroom itself is evolving as well -- chalkboards and transparencies are being replaced with flat screens and digital projectors. Today's classrooms also focus on collaboration and teamwork, requiring a more flexible work environment. Teachers are more interactive and mobile than in previous generations, leading to the crumbling of the traditional, hierarchical "teacher in the front/rows of students"-type set-up.

To determine the needs of today's classroom, The HON Company, a leading office furniture designer and manufacturer, interviewed teachers, principals, administrators, students and designers. The result? SmartLink™ -- a revolutionary classroom furniture system. This unique technology-centric furniture solution connects the teacher, the students and the environment together in a uniquely synergistic manner designed to foster an interactive learning process.

"SmartLink takes into account the changing needs of schools, such as technological needs, flexibility, storage and organization," said Jim Cahill, HON's vice president of systems and education. "The fact that it's mobile allows teachers to easily reconfigure any classroom to facilitate interactive learning or to better support their own teaching style."

Cahill noted that a comprehensive solution, such as SmartLink, is new to the education market. In the past, education professionals had to purchase classroom furnishings and storage options from multiple suppliers, making seamless integration difficult. The introduction of SmartLink has revolutionized the way classrooms can be designed and utilized -- not only for today's needs but also those of the future.

In creating SmartLink, HON sought to create furnishings that would:

-- Be the best utilization of space while providing the ultimate in productivity

-- Configure for a variety of learning and teaching environments, from kindergarten to high school classrooms

-- Offer flexible storage and wall systems that can be customized for any classroom

-- Synchronizes teacher and student desks for a complete classroom look

-- Hold up to high traffic and heavy use

SmartLink's four key components include a teacher station, modular storage, a wall rail system and a student desk. The products visually integrate to provide a holistic solution that supports space utilization and a variety of learning styles, as well as a variety of technology requirements.

Teacher Station

The innovative design of this durable, adaptable piece of furniture offers ample work and storage space that can accommodate multiple teaching styles, classroom layouts and technology needs. As a mobile station, it can be easily repositioned within the classroom. As a desk, it can organize and manage teaching materials, equipment and technology, and provides ample storage for files, books and magazines.

Modular Storage

From pencils, paperclips and markers to pipe cleaners, laptops and backpacks... keeping today's classroom organized is definitely a challenge. HON's solution? A modular storage system that adapts to the needs of different classrooms by employing a variety of trays, shelves and cabinets that can accommodate any classroom configuration. "The reaction to our modular storage solution has been phenomenal," added Cahill. "It's not that teachers aren't organized -- it's that they've never had the right equipment to allow them to get organized."

Wall Rail System

The unique wall rail system delivers better use of wall and floor space, even in the most space-challenged classroom. Its multifunctional, multi-track rail allows sliding and reversible presentation boards and worksurface solutions to be configured in numerous ways. These components, which literally hang off the rail system, can easily accommodate and organize different teaching styles and facilitate several learning activities at one time.

Student Desks

SmartLink student desks provide a multi-functional solution capable of increasing student productivity and enhancing learning activities, including individual, group-collaborative and teacher-centered work. The triangular desktop shape and ergonomic user edge offers comfort and support, while the wire basket and backpack hook keeps all essential materials within reach. The adjustable height ranges from 22 to 32 inches in 1-inch increments, which means the same desk can allow students of all grade levels to sit comfortably. Tops on student desks are large enough for notebooks and laptops and are "non-handed," providing greater arm support to both right- and left-handed users. The desks themselves are lightweight and can be easily configured into individual rows or collaborative configurations, which is further facilitated by the shape.

HON products are available through its authorized dealer, Worthington Direct, the leader in discount school furniture. 

 The HON Company Changes the Face of the American Classroom

Worthington Direct is a proud dealer of Artco-Bell school furniture products.  Visit http://www.worthingtondirect.com today for quality American Desk products such as Activity Tables, Teacher's Desk, Stack Chairs, Combo Desks and Open Front Desks.

Over the past eight years, he said, the cost to ship a container from China increased from $2,200 to more than $7,000. “For a while, [the Chinese] were buying steel better than we could buy steel,” Mr. Sykes said. “But as the scales began to balance as far as what they were purchasing in raw and what we were purchasing in raw, then the freight became the issue. The great equalizer is the boat ride back over.”

Increased wages in China have produced a new middle class, Mr. Sykes said. If Chinese wage gains remain high, he said, his company's shift to domestic production could become a long-term change.

“I don't know how it's going to slip the other way,” he said. U.S. labor costs are still higher than Chinese, but other factors help make U.S. production more tempting, said Mr. Kazazian. “You're never going to have $2-an-hour labor” in the United States, he said. “But with quality, time, efficiency, you close the gap.” Mr. Sykes said he is happy that his company has reduced foreign outsourcing from 12 percent to less than 4 percent of total output in the past year and a half.

“Not only does it make it feasible, but it sure makes us feel a heck of a lot better to do business in the United States,” he said. Mr. Kazazian said domestic manufacturing helps his company keep customers satisfied while encouraging patriotic pride. “Given the opportunity, American workers are better than anyplace else,” he said. “The pride that they have when they come in and produce a product is something missing in a lot of other places. Because at the end of the day, there's a lot of advantages to being made in the USA.” American Desk School Furniture

Paragon has a comfortable view for any way you wish to see the economy's condition or better yet, your computer screen.  Summer is a perfect time for schools to upgrade their computer lab and no lab would be complete without Paragon's computer furniture line which includes Flat Panel Semi-Recessed Workstations, Cluster Workstations and Lab Workstations.  Support your economy and enhance your student's computer skills by visiting www.worthingtondirect.com today for all of your computer furniture products.

A wider variety of stack chairs, tables and student desks are available to deliver in many cases inside of two weeks with our 5-day quick ship items from quality vendors such as Smith System, Midwest and Virco. Steel stools for drafting classrooms, art rooms and metal shop rooms are in stock and ready to ship in 5 days or less, even in July and August.

Need something specific, but not sure if it will arrive on time? Give Worthington Direct a call, or contact them directly online and their friendly staff will be happy to assist you in finding the right furniture for your needs, to fit your time table. 

Last week, the house approved the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act, H.R. 3021, legislation to make schools greener, and improve conditions for those with environmentally linked health problems. The bill passed by a vote of 250-164. This bill ensures that 90 percent of the funds allocated will be directed towards the purchase of greener furniture, such as Greenguard certified furniture. Greenguard is rapidly becoming the standard in "green school" furniture, with many manufacturers providing a wide selection of Greenguard certified chairs, school desks, activity tables, and more. As the green segment of school and church furniture continues to grow, companies such as Worthington Direct strives to expand their selection of green furniture for environmentally and health conscious schools.

Many of Virco's products, such as the Metaphor series, and Telos series, as well as the classic Virco series chair desks' tops are made entirely of Virco's proprietary Fortified Recycled Wood to help improve the amount of reclaimed materials used in manufacturing. For more Virco products that use green materials such as Fortified Recycled Wood, visit Worthington Direct.

Ghent also makes a variety of easels, from oak-framed whiteboards  to classic aluminum-framed chalkboards, suitable for any college, classroom or conference room. Looking for something more casual? Best-Rite offers their Rubber-Tak tackboards in a variety of colors, which allows quick posting by anyone in the office, without leaving ugly pinholes when the thumbtack is removed. Rubber-Tak boards come backed and framed, or can be purchased alone with an adhesive backing to create an entire wall of ideas.

Such a wide variety of ways to get your message across, how to choose what's right for you? Try contacting Worthington Direct, or visit their website at www.worthingtondirect.com for great deals on these boards and more.

Bretford’s stunning 5,100 square foot permanent showroom in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart will have a 1950s/1960s theme with furniture upholstered in cowhide, vinyl and other fabric patterns to recapture the era and personify the early days of Bretford. The vintage style choices also demonstrate the limitless ways to design and finish Bretford furniture to enhance any learning, meeting or work area.

“Our showroom theme represents Bretford’s longevity and expertise in the commercial furniture industry – the result of six decades of hard work and being in business,” explained Mikel Briggs, president of Bretford Manufacturing, Inc. “The application vignettes provide true examples of how Bretford furniture can outfit a school or meeting space to accommodate the latest technologies and create workspaces that are modular, comfortable and environmentally-friendly.”

RHOMBII Training Tables The new RHOMBII training tables make any workspace truly reconfigurable. With built-in power and data modules as well as easy mobility and storage, the new tables quickly adapt to the needs of any higher education or training environment. Perfect for both traditional and contemporary spaces, the RHOMBII training tables are universal in nature. They can be placed in virtually any formation depending on the size, style and needs of the gathering, then easily folded and stored out of the way or moved into other locations. The tables will be available for order in August through Herman Miller North American dealerships and shipping in Q3 2008.

Other product lines highlighted in the Bretford showroom include Plus soft seating sofas and chairs with ProBax® seating technology, the sophisticated Ithaca library system, modular Free Evolve workstations, Here high-efficiency tables, mobile boards and rail systems, and the elegant yet high-tech Tru conference tables. By complementing these lines with Bretford’s mount and cart accessories -- to support technologies such as flat panels, projectors and laptops --Bretford becomes a one-stop resource for commercial furniture solutions.

Worthington Direct is an authorized dealer for all quality Bretford products.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today and see a variety of Bretford overhead projector tables, computer workstations, computer tables, flush wall mounts, laptop storage carts, projection screens and booktrucks.

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