When North Dakota elementary school teacher Kayla Dornfeld sat down at her local coffee shop to do some work, she couldn’t help but notice how many people were drawn to working there as well. It was a welcoming focus-friendly vibe she wanted to recreate in her own classroom. That “Starbucks” revelation and the physical redesign of her classroom translated into significant improvements in learning. Her students were given the freedom to choose where they worked and what kind of position they preferred. The result—students happy to be at school, better focus, and the near disappearance of behavioral issues. It is a classroom design that is being modeled globally.
Redesigning her classroom with flexible seating was just the beginning of Dornfeld’s fresh approach to teaching. Her insights and intuition have inspired many innovations that this forward-thinking educator has implemented to prepare her students for real-time and future success. Says Dornfeld, “My classroom is all about choices for kids from where they sit to how they learn, to even how they show me that they’ve mastered a standard.” Teachers come from all over the state to observe her classroom.
Named one of the tech-savviest teachers in the United States by the New York Times, Dornfeld has been lauded internationally for her approach to teaching digital citizenship to her students. She believes that educators should embrace technology and teach young people how to use it responsibly. Dornfeld developed her own digital certification curriculum, teaching online etiquette, social media responsibility, and how to recognize cyberbullying. When her students are “certified,” she gives them access to her social media and the classroom Twitter account.
Dornfeld has been recognized as the 2020 Top Educator of the Year (International Association of Top Professionals), North Dakota’s 2019 Teacher of Year, and honored twice (2017, 2018) by Global One HundrED as one of the top 100 innovative educators in the world. While these accolades are wonderful, Dornfeld says her real reward comes from her students. “My kids love coming to school and that’s my number one goal. I want my classroom to be a place where kids really want to be and not a place they have to be.”
Dornfeld’s ideas are changing the shape of education, but her north star remains steady. “If it’s right for kids, it’s right.”
