By Christian Coffman

NATCHEZ — Four weeks after transforming her classroom with yoga balls and milk crates, West Elementary School teacher Amanda Mercer said she knew the new flexible classroom principles are working.

Mercer updated the Natchez-Adams School Board last week with her findings.

Mercer received materials for a flexible classroom in April, with the goal of increasing student comfort and test scores by way of yoga balls, exercise cushions, milk crates and other non-traditional forms of unassigned seating.

The third-grade teacher explained that her block A and B classes improved after the introduction of the flexible classroom.

“From my block A … 67 percent of my students’ scale score increased from the flexible seating,” Mercer said. “I know one thing that helped them was actually taking their tests while sitting on yoga balls and bouncing.”

Mercer explained that her block A class included many struggling students. Many of their scores improved after the introduction of the new classroom furniture, she said.

“We had a child go from a 65 to a 75, (another student from) a 66 to a 76 and (a third student from) a 48 to a 64,” Mercer said. “I’m one hundred percent sure that it’s because of  the flexible seating.”

Mercer said 50 percent of her block B students’ grades increased.

“Overall, I think the flexible seating really helped my students,” Mercer said.

The freedom students had to select whichever type of furniture they wanted, Mercer said, is what she thinks helped the children improve.

“They just came in and sat down and started their work … they loved not sitting in the same spot every day,” Mercer said. “They knew if they did not do correctly or get along, they would have to move.”

But for the most part, this did not happen, as Mercer said students moved around the room as they pleased and would ask to sit in specific places.

Although she has only had four weeks to test the flexible classroom, Mercer said she is excited to continue the project into the next school year.

“I’m excited for August to come … to see if the students from second grade, as far as discipline problems are concerned, get better,” Mercer said.

Superintendent Fred Butcher said the school would next try the flexible classroom with an additional class for a longer period before recommending it for other schools in the district.

“We should do another semester with two different classrooms … to generalize the findings,” Butcher said.