When designing learning environments for career exploration, authenticity is key. Students benefit from learning in classrooms that look and feel like the work environments they’re likely to encounter in the real world, using actual tools and equipment handled by professionals in those fields.
Authenticity was top of mind when the Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy in Dallas built a brand-new $63 million facility for its career-focused magnet program for students in grades six through eight—and School Specialty helped district officials realize their vision for the new building by furnishing and equipping it with authentic workplace seating and materials.
“School Specialty did a great job of taking our design cues and suggesting furniture and materials that would bring them to life,” says Dr. M. Scott Tatum, the school’s principal. “Everything tells a cohesive story about who we are as a school.”
Flexible and Functional Spaces
Part of the Dallas Independent School District, Longfellow Academy was created in 1984 as a magnet school for advanced academics, with students taking high school math and science by the time they’re in the eighth grade.
Students also have an opportunity to explore various career pathways, with each pathway aligning with a corresponding magnet high school. Students can take introductory-level classes in any of the pathways they’re interested in, and when they find a pathway that resonates with them, they can explore that pathway further with more advanced classes.
Longfellow Academy was housed in a 65,000 square-foot facility built in 1947, but this outdated building no longer met the school’s needs. In 2020, the community passed a bond issue to build a modern, 144,00 square-foot facility that could accommodate 650 total students. The new building opened in August 2025.
In designing and furnishing the new facility, district leaders wanted a building that would support future-ready teaching and learning. “We were looking for a more mature environment that didn’t look like a typical middle school,” Dr. Tatum says. “The furnishings needed to be flexible and functional to support creativity and collaboration, with students working together on authentic tasks and projects.”
This type of collaborative activity mirrors what is found in modern workplace environments, with employees working together to brainstorm and solve problems. “It needed to feel authentic,” Dr. Tatum says, “like what you might see in the real world.”
Solving Key Challenges
For help in executing this vision, Longfellow Academy turned to School Specialty, which has decades of experience in designing, furnishing, and equipping all types of learning environments.
School Specialty Senior Learning Environment Specialist Kathleen Williams helped Dr. Tatum and his colleagues choose furnishings that created more mature-looking learning environments that give off a professional vibe, such as bistro tables and a mix of traditional and soft seating—helping students see themselves as workplace professionals.
One of the key challenges that officials faced was how to create learning environments that could support many different styles of learning. School Specialty solved this challenge by suggesting highly modular and agile furnishings that could easily be moved around the room and arranged in various configurations, such as furniture on locking casters and tables that can be collapsed to create more space.
Because students will be working with power tools, 3D printers, and other technologies as they engage in hands-on learning, having a place to safely store equipment and materials is critical. School Specialty suggested makerspace tables with built-in storage, modular shelving, and other movable storage units that don’t take up a lot of valuable classroom space. As a result, “students and teachers don’t feel pinned in,” Dr. Tatum says.
Many of the furnishings can serve multiple purposes. For instance, instead of choosing traditional-style cafeteria tables with attached seating, officials chose Sico three-in-one convertible tables with bench-style seating that can be removed and used as seating for performances. “School Specialty was willing to help us find the right setup to solve our challenges,” Dr. Tatum notes.
Many of the furnishings can serve multiple purposes. For instance, instead of choosing traditional-style cafeteria tables with attached seating, officials chose Sico three-in-one convertible tables with bench-style seating that can be removed and used as seating for performances.
“School Specialty was willing to help us find the right setup to solve our challenges,” Dr. Tatum notes.
“Learning Should Feel Real”
Before moving into the new facility, Longfellow Academy offered five career pathways for students to explore: engineering, business/IT, arts and AV technology, visual and performing arts, and “voice and vision,” which helps students learn how to use their voice to make change through prelaw, politics, debate, and mock trial. With the new facility, the academy now provides a sixth pathway as well: culinary arts.
In keeping with the theme of authenticity, the career-based classrooms include learning spaces that are designed, furnished, and equipped with authentic furniture and materials that professionals in those career fields work with every day.
For instance, the art and AV tech space includes a news desk for students to practice broadcast journalism; a separate interview zone that’s set up like a talk show environment; a podcasting studio; and a huddle station that includes a tall table and a shared screen for students to collaborate around. Students use professional-grade cameras, microphones, and editing software to create their productions.
The theater arts space includes an acting studio, a scene shop with work tables for students to build sets and props, and versatile “flipFORM” staging that can easily convert from a flat stage to riser steps to help teachers make the most of this classroom space.
“Authentic experiences, equipment, and technology help students see themselves using those skills in the real world someday,” Dr. Tatum notes. “There’s no reason to train kids using materials and equipment they’ll never use.” He adds: “Learning should feel real, not abstract.”
Removing Barriers
Students, teachers, and community members alike are very excited about the new Longfellow Academy facility.
The school’s motto is: “Dare to dream.” The new building has eliminated the barriers that limit students’ learning, Dr. Tatum observes—and students are now “able to dream bigger.”
“School Specialty did a great job of understanding what we need,” he concludes. “It’s nice to have partners like that.”
Build Your Own Career or Ed Tech Learning Environment
Whether you are creating a dedicated lab for a single subject or need a flexible, multi-purpose solution, a well-equipped Career Technical Education (CTE) area can encourage innovation while developing college and career skills. Find more inspiration on our website.