Christina Webster, a lead tutor at The Community Classroom, teaching a summer camp class.
Reminder Publishing photo by Ryan Feyre
NORTHAMPTON — After four years of offering invaluable academic support to students, caregivers and community members in the area at their 29 N. Maple St. location, The Community Classroom is ready to begin a new chapter in a new location within the historic Parsons Block.
Megan Allen, the chief learning coordinator and founder of The Community Classroom, told Reminder Publishing at the new space, which is located at 88 Maple St., that the classroom outgrew their old location a couple of years ago, so it made sense to make the move.
She expressed jubilation for planting the classroom in a location that is flanked by other staple businesses in the Parsons Block area, like Zen Frog Coffee, the café that sits right next door.
“I wanted to be a part of the movement going on in Florence,” Allen said, as one of the reasons for moving. “I like being a part of Parsons Block in particular, considering its place in its history of Florence.”
The Community Classroom will continue to offer its blend of academic coaching, parent services, online and in-person tutoring, and other programs, but the new location provides double the number of tutoring stations and “innovative” amenities, like a homework bar, booth seating and comfortable floor seating.
Allen said a lot of the new amenities were created in consultation with clients who shared what they wanted to see in the new space.
“We believe strongly in student-teacher collaboration,” Allen said. “So, for example, instead of having chairs across from each other, which kind of represents a power dynamic, the booths provide side-by-side learning, so the students and teachers are working together.”
Students and families were also welcome to paint their own iterations of The Community Classroom’s pineapple logo as a way for each of them to be represented in the new space.
Other little minutiae are also a part of the new classroom like constellation table signs that indicate which students are working with which tutors during which hour.
“Some of the students were sad about leaving the old classroom, so allowing them to paint those logos and offering feedback for the space gave them ownership and help with the transition,” Allen said.
The new space will also be a place where The Community Classroom can continue to foster and strengthen their relationships with the community. For example, Allen said that a local group known as Families With Power will be able to utilize the space at no cost for a resume workshop.
Already up and running
When Reminder Publishing visited the new space on July 8, the classroom was already running at full force with its summer camps.
Just across the street, the classroom was entrenched in a summer baking camp in the Florence Civic & Business Association spearheaded by lead tutor and academic coach Nicole Rhodes, as well as summer interns from local colleges who are looking to go into education in the future.
Students draped in custom-made aprons were spending the day cooking the delectable of the day from scratch. One day found the students cooking crescent rolls while another featured a session on baking eclairs.
Allen said that it was tougher to run this camp last year in the previous classroom location where the space was tighter and it was easier to blow a fuse, so having the space in the Florence Civic Center was important for the camp’s vitality.
“There’s a kitchen in the center, so it’s worked out a lot better for us,” Allen said.
The classroom is utilizing other ways of providing a hands-on approach to teaching and learning in conjunction with the new Maple Street space.
Right outside of the civic center is a new mobile planetarium trailer/pop-up reading room for the Florence Farmer’s Market that the classroom was able to deploy thanks to a state grant. The inside of the trailer is a science nerd’s dream: it includes flashlights, a planetarium projector that illuminates the trailer with stars and a moon-themed rug.
The trailer also features books, supplies and other activities that students can participate in thanks to A-to-Z Science & Learning Toy Store, which provided a lot of resources for student learning.
“Kids can come in here and read a bunch of books under the stars if they want to,” Allen said. “The space is for specifically bringing science, math and social justice to the farmer’s market.”
The present and future
Although The Community Classroom only officially moved into the new space at 88 Maple St. on July 1, the engine has not ceased. Aside from the baking camp and new mobile planetarium, the classroom is also continuing its year-round programing, including online and in-person tutoring and other camps that are planned for the future.
One of those programs, scheduled for the end of July, involves a collaboration with Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity and the David Ruggles Center called “Hidden Herstories of Florence,” where campers will uncover hidden stories of women in Florence and learn the power of shaping spaces for the better.
When Reminder Publishing visited, the classroom was also in the midst of its patented community leadership program which allows girls, nonbinary and gender nonconforming students to engage in daily internships with women entrepreneurs and leaders in Northampton.
One of the days, for example, students were able to visit Natalie Stollmeyer at Northampton Fire and Rescue, the first female fire captain in Northampton, to learn more about what she does.
“They’re able to go learn about different women leaders in the community with this camp,” Allen said. “We’re always looking for ways to bring learning outside of the classroom.”
That sentiment of bringing learning beyond the classroom is reflected right outside the new space, as students are still able to engage with a Little Free Math Library, a Little Free Library and a soon-to-be-implemented math vending machine, which allows students to approach math and science in an interactive manner.
These amenities and the others inside of the new space are all part of The Community Classroom’s grander plan of bringing personalized tutoring and educational support to students of all ages.
When asked if The Community Classroom has been everything she has imagined since starting it four years ago, Allen said it has been “so much more.” Now, with the new location, the opportunities appear endless.
“I think that the new space allows us to provide so much more for the community,” Allen said.
Readers can learn more about the space and The Community Classroom by visiting the classroom’s website: thecommunityclassroom.com/. Around 40-plus tutors, all of whom have extensive teaching experience, breathe life into the classroom.
