In the summer of 2021, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) redesigned 133 pre-kindergarten to third-grade classrooms into interactive learning environments. Physical renovations and classroom set-ups were completed by the start of the 2021-22 school year. This was the fifth cohort of classrooms to receive renovations; the previous cohorts received their renovations over the summer each year from 2017 (cohort 1) to 2020 (cohort 4).

As part of the classroom modernization project, teachers participated in professional development sessions throughout the 2021-22 school year on incorporating the new equipment (and related topics) and received access to sample units and lesson plans for the learning centers.

This evaluation extends the previous evaluations conducted over the past six years by examining five primary research questions over the 2021-22 school year:

1. Which classrooms were renovated?
2. To what extent were classroom teachers satisfied with the professional development?
3. To what extent were classroom teachers satisfied with the renovations?
4. How did Cohort 5 teachers perceive changes to their instructional practices and student outcomes associated with the project at the end of the first year?
5. How did teachers from previous cohorts perceive long-term changes to their instructional practices and student outcomes associated with the project after multiple years?

Key findings include:

• 133 PreK-Grade 3 classrooms in nine schools were renovated in summer 2021. This was the fifth cohort of classrooms to receive renovations. Teachers in Cohort 5 also received professional development as part of the classroom modernization project.
• Cohort 5 teachers rated professional development sessions positively.
• Cohort 5 teachers found using the new technology to be a challenge and would have liked more input into what materials were in their rooms.
• Cohort 5 teachers felt the project provided benefits to their teaching, the classroom culture, the learning environment, and small group instruction.
• Cohorts 1-4 teachers who have been teaching in the renovated classrooms for multiple years also found lasting benefits from the modernizations but rated items slightly less positively at the end of the 2021-22 school year than Cohort 5 teachers did.