Pasco schools plan to add walls to 700 open classrooms

Tampa Bay Times | By Jeffrey S. Solochek | February 20, 2025

Superintendent Legg said the move should reduce distractions and improve security.

Pasco County’s Fox Hollow Elementary School is building walls between its teachers and students. Literally.

The campus, which opened in 1991, was constructed without classroom walls as part of the “open schools” concept aimed at making it easier for teachers to collaborate and students to work with children in other classes.

The design, with four rooms attached to a central meeting area, had its benefits, principal Jessica Pitkoff said. But over time, the downside of having only accordion doors that don’t fully shut became more prominent.

“Its not that it’s bad,” Pitkoff said of the collaborative setup. “It’s that it’s distracting.”

Fox Hollow Elementary School principal Jessica Pitkoff

So when superintendent John Legg proposed ending the open concept at all district schools as a way to improve the learning environment, Pitkoff and her teaching team welcomed the opportunity to go first. The kindergarten pod is already done, while work on the fifth grade section is under way.

“It’s quieter. They’re more focused,” she said. “I’m very excited about it.”

Legg introduced the project to the school board on Tuesday. He said the district has about 700 open classrooms, and it could take up to two years to complete the initiative using district maintenance and construction workers.

The cost is about $3,000 per classroom, which Legg called inexpensive and said should fit in the district’s capital budget over time.

“It’s going to be driven from the principal level and the classroom level,” Legg said. “Some schools may not want the classrooms closed in.”

He pointed to Sanders Elementary as an example where the existing model works well.

But for those that want to make the change, and it can be accomplished structurally, the district will make it happen on a tiered basis over time. The most needy schools will be tackled first.

“It’s a model that no longer functions in our current age,” Legg said.

School board members supported the idea.

Member Megan Harding taught at Fox Hollow before winning election. She recalled times when students ran from class into the shared area, disrupting lessons in four classrooms.

When specialists and support staff came to provide services to individuals or small student groups, she added, that work often could be heard in all the classrooms as well. She deemed the walls “great” for the schools.

Board member Jessica Wright has two children another Pasco elementary school without classroom walls. She said her primary concern was one of security, as an outsider who gains access to a building would face few barriers.

“I’m very enthusiastic about enclosing the pods,” Wright said.

Pasco is not the only district to distance itself from the open model. The Pinellas County district has been erecting walls in its schools without classroom walls, too. It has one more campus left on its project list.

Legg said he is hopeful that the effort will yield improved student outcomes along with better behavior and increased security. Academic achievement is the primary focus, he said, mentioning other initiatives underway including changes to homework rules and a review of the math curriculum.

“Curriculum alone is not enough,” he said. “We need to ensure every classroom is a distraction -free environment.”