7 Surprising Benefits of Expanding With A Portable Classroom
Are portable classrooms the answer for your class-size woes? Find out the numerous benefits of using a portable classroom trailer to expand your school.
What’s one of the biggest issues facing teachers and schools in the US today?
The answer may surprise you: It’s overcrowding.
The reasons behind this problem vary, whether that’s an increase in population, a decrease in available teachers, and a lack of funding. That means that instead of the preferred ratio of students to teacher, 15-20:1, classrooms are seeing numbers more like 30:1.
With the coronavirus still circulating, social distancing guidelines may add to the problem of finding the appropriate space to house staff and students.
One solution many school districts turn to is school portables—and a solution is necessary. With overcrowding, students are getting less individual attention, teachers are overwhelmed, and the school day suffers because of it, with some students even falling behind.
Portable classroom trailers may be the perfect answer.
1. Classroom Trailers Are More Affordable Than New Buildings
In 2014, the average cost of a new middle school building cost around $242.96 per square foot. The standard total size of a middle school was 118,500 square feet, making the median cost $26.5 million.
While it’s likely your school only needs to add a handful of buildings, the cost can quickly add up. With school portables, there’s an excellent opportunity to save money. The average portable price is about $81 per square foot.
You can scale your modular classroom purchases with your school’s growth, starting with one and expanding with the school’s population. One rented or even purchased portable classroom is significantly cheaper than new building construction.
Make sure to compare prices as you hunt for the best option, which could save you up to 30% in costs. The factors that influence price depend on how big you want the classroom, how long you need it for, whether you rent or buy, and more. Try to find a company that offers flexible finance options, too.
2. Classrooms Can Get There Quicker
Rather than waiting for a new building to get constructed, which could take months or even years, you can have mobile buildings on your property immediately! This point is especially true if you go with an already-built, used portable classroom that’s readily available.
Modular school buildings can especially save you time when you’re in a crunch, and you get more students enrolled than expected. Rather than turning students away, you can rent or buy a portable classroom and have it ready for the new school year on day one.
Not only that, but there’s no disruptive, inconvenient construction going on during school hours. Portable buildings involve little more than site preparation and delivery.
3. Portable School Buildings Can Be Permanent or Temporary
Not sure if you’ll need your portable building long-term? No worries—part of their benefit is the option to rent or buy.
If you end up wanting to keep your portable classroom, you can invest in owning it then. This is certainly not the case with new building construction, which is not only costly and permanent but hard to bounce back from if fewer students enroll in the following years.
Additionally, the location doesn’t have to be permanent, either. You can quickly move your portable building around per its necessity. If you need a classroom closer to the main building, or even farther away, that’s simple to do. Simply reach out to the same business you got the portable from.
4. Free up Money for Other School Needs
It’s no secret that schools could use more in the way of budgeting.
In the US, on average, schools spend more than $12,000 per student. The majority of that cost comes from a lack of both state and local funding. High-poverty districts tend to have even less funding.
Knowing this, portable classrooms are a fantastic solution.
They allow schools to host more students with social distancing in mind, all while saving money, which they can allocate elsewhere. Perhaps that money can be used to hire more teachers, getting that student-to-teacher ratio back down, or invested in tutors, better after-school and/or food programs, and much more.
5. A Variety of Dimensions
Portable classrooms aren’t one-size-fits-all, which is excellent news for those who need different rooms for various reasons. When working with a company that provides mobile classroom rentals, be sure to ask about their several options in sizes.
6. Individualized Climate Control
Keeping an entire school building cool during the summer and warm during the winter is a challenging (and costly) thing to do. Often, students and teachers are either chattering their teeth or uncomfortably warm, which is not ideal for teaching or learning.
Mobile classrooms provide climate control per building, allowing the teacher to adjust as needed.
Just got done teaching PE or having lunch outside? Crank the a/c down and get instant results—and vise versa.
7. Outdoor Access
Being close to the outdoors has significant advantages for both students and teachers. It may seem small, but a quick walk outside to the portable classroom from the main building may be just enough to wake students up, get them moving around, and expel some energy.
Is your portable classroom close to the track, and you’ve got an angsty kid in class? Let them run a (supervised) lap and then come back, where they’ll be able to pay more attention in class.
It’s Time for Districts to Invest in School Portables
The benefits are clear. By renting or buying a portable classroom, you can quickly solve the problems presented by overcrowding. Your school doesn’t have to go broke or waste time, either.
With these advantages in mind, it’s time to begin budgeting. Click here to get quotes for our school portables within one business day.