Faculty Profile: Zach Swan

It's always a striking sight the first time you see it — a tall California surfer type leading a line of the tiniest Burke's girls toward the playground. Zach Swan has been shepherding kindergarteners throughout the Burke's campus for over a decade, starting in the 2007-08 school year.

Teaching is a passion for Mr. Swan, who holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master's degree in education from the University of San Francisco. But one vital element he brings to his role as the Kindergarten Yellow Group lead teacher is his cool head — he handles various owies and tears and 5-year-old dramas with a calming presence.

That also helps when it comes to implementing change in his classroom. Starting in the 2015-16 school year, Mr. Swan took part in a classroom furniture pilot and hasn't looked back since. The pilot replaced the standard desks and chairs with portable triangular tables that could be moved into countless configurations as well as new seating options that accommodate the different learning styles of the dozen or so students in his classroom each year. (They include Hokki stools, which engage core muscles while sitting, as well as chairs that bend and beanbags.)

Mr. Swan has found that something so simple as tables and chairs could affect the way he teaches. "The tables are the best part because we do a lot of collaborative building here, and if they’re building in pairs, they can have their own space as a pair and they’re not knocking each other’s stuff over. The girls are in charge of [the tables] — they unlock them, wheel them around — so it’s fun to see them moving and self-guided," he says. "You can do a little bit more because you're not confined to little rectangles all the time."

What's also been quite helpful is using the furniture to help navigate the challenges specific to a kindergarten classroom. "If someone's having a day or just needs their own space, they can wheel out a table and have their own area," Mr. Swan says.
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