In talking with customers over the years, two key advantages of working with School Specialty to design, furnish, and equip modern learning spaces come up repeatedly.
One is that many of the company’s Learning Environment Specialists are former educators who know from experience what works and can recommend solutions that not only look great but are highly functional, long-lasting, and perfectly meet the needs of students and instructors.
The second is the company’s exceptional level of service. School Specialty always goes the extra mile to make sure learning environments are set up successfully and furniture is installed correctly, so high-quality teaching and learning can begin on day one.
Both of these advantages were evident in a recent capital improvement project involving two new buildings for Valley Center USD 262 in Kansas: Valley Park Elementary School and USD 262 Supplemental Learning Center, an innovative space that combines multiple services for online and special-needs students.
Superintendent Greg Lehr had worked with School Specialty before when he was an administrator at another district. So when School Specialty responded to the bidding process with a furniture proposal for USD 262’s new buildings, Lehr knew he could count on the company to deliver what it promised.
School Specialty Strategic Account Leader Heather Smith and Senior Learning Environment Specialist Belinda Engles worked with officials from the district and from Alloy Architecture of Wichita, Kansas, to suggest ideal furnishings and equipment for the new schools’ learning spaces, including sensory rooms in both buildings. What’s more, School Specialty was the only furniture supplier that had a representative on site during the entire installation process to ensure proper delivery and setup.
“I’ve recommended School Specialty to multiple districts, and we’ll continue to use them ourselves,” Lehr says. “It’s good to work with good people. That makes a big difference.”
Valley Park Elementary School
The new Valley Park Elementary School is visually stunning, with different-themed corridors for each grade level. The corridors in the kindergarten wing, for instance, are lined with bright yellow acoustical material to create a vivid sunshine theme; there are also ocean and forest themes for other grade levels.
“We’ve used colors and furniture to brighten the space and make it special for students,” says Lisa Shaffer, a principal at Alloy Architecture. “This also helps with wayfinding.”
Many elementary schools aren’t designed to be highly welcoming spaces when visitors walk into the building, Lehr says. He adds: “With this building, you walk right into a common area that’s a welcoming space for everyone.”
The school also features open learning centers in each wing that can be used for different purposes, equipped with both soft and traditional seating options and technology for presentations. Throughout the building, Alloy’s design called for flexible, movable, and height-adjustable furniture that easily could be rearranged to accommodate various learning activities.
“We really thought about the intentionality of the spaces,” says Lauren White, principal of Valley Park Elementary School. “We’ve chosen highly functional furnishings, such as desks that could come together for group work or separate for individual learning.”
USD 262 Supplemental Learning Center
The new USD 262 Supplemental Learning Center houses numerous programs that operated within separate buildings before. These include the Next Steps Academy, which teaches vocational and daily living skills for special-needs students ages 18 to 21; a day school program for students in kindergarten through 12th grade who struggle with self-regulation in traditional classrooms; and a virtual-school program for students working online to accelerate their learning or make up credits.
The design of this unique building and its learning spaces was “all based specifically around the needs of the students,” says Chris Edwards, principal of USD 262 Supplemental Learning Center. “There’s a purpose for everything.”
The day school program operates in three mixed-ability classrooms: one for elementary students and two for students in grades 6-12. There are spaces for students to work in groups and also alone, with “privacy pods” in every room. There are also different types of seating, including “wobble stools” for students who need movement to self-regulate.
The Next Steps Academy includes two classrooms, one for learning job skills and the other for learning daily living skills. This latter classroom is equipped with a Murphy bed, so students can learn and practice how to make their bed each day, as well and a table and chairs and a state-of-the-art kitchen with two ovens and commercial-grade appliances.
“Each student has a chore to do every day, such as doing laundry or washing windows,” Edwards says. “Anything you can do in a house, we’ve incorporated into this program. Students also cook a meal on Fridays, which is served at the kitchen table.”
Edwards and other officials relied on the expertise of School Specialty’s Learning Environment Specialists to suggest furniture and equipment for the building’s unique learning spaces.
“They’ve done multiple jobs like this,” he explains, “so they know what works for different scenarios. It was a pretty smooth process overall. The team was easy to work with.” He adds: “Every piece in this building is being used in a successful manner.”
Sensory Rooms In Both Buildings
Each of the new buildings includes a calming sensory room to help students regulate their emotions, and Valley Park Elementary School also has an active sensory room with items such as a balance beam and swing for children to regulate their bodies when they’re in an escalation stage.
District officials relied on School Specialty’s extensive knowledge of Snoezelen sensory rooms in equipping these spaces. School Specialty special needs specialist Christopher Corder helped with the design and installation of these sensory spaces. He also led training on these spaces for teachers and administrators so they would know how and when to use each item.
The calming sensory rooms include items such as bubble tubes, vibration stations, and floor tiles that change color when students step on them. An egg-shaped chair equipped with Bluetooth speakers that play soft, calming music helps students block out outside distractions.
“It’s a big hit with our students,” Edwards says.
Students can experience these rooms in eight-minute sessions accompanied by a paraprofessional. Lehr describes the sensory rooms as “phenomenal,“ noting: “It’s nice to have a space for students to be able to use to calm down, so they can come back out and refocus on learning.”
‘A Point Of Pride’
Both buildings opened in August 2026 to rave reviews from students, parents, and teachers.
“These buildings are a point of pride for our district,” Lehr says. “They provide a learning environment that’s positive for our staff and students, whose own attitudes are more positive as a result.”
When people walk into the new elementary school, “their eyes get big because it’s so beautiful,” White says. “Kids are happy to be here.” Teachers, too, are thrilled with the brand-new and highly functional furniture.
Students who are in programs like the Next Steps Academy or the district’s day school program “often don’t have the nicest facilities,” Lehr notes. “Having a beautiful, brand-new space makes a big difference for our students.”
White describes the collaboration with School Specialty as “fantastic,” noting: “They were always on site with us and always available to answer questions right away. Heather, our rep, was literally only a text away when I needed her.”
Shaffer, too, describes how responsive the company was throughout the process, adding: “I especially appreciate how thorough they were during installation and the final inspection.”
She concludes: “When you see people actually using these spaces, it’s very gratifying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a child say, ‘I can’t wait to go to school here.’ It’s so inspiring.”
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