History teacher Erin Lehmann has introduced standing desks to Wayland High School. Students no longer have to wait to stand up when the bell rings.

Last summer, Lehmann attended a week of personal development days. She was expected to sit the entire time.

“I just felt miserable,” Lehmann said. “I could not sit for this extended period of time. I started thinking about it. Just sitting all day long was making me so irritable, and I couldn’t focus.”

When Lehmann went home from the workshops, she noticed a professional publication in the mail with an article about standing desks. She read that research shows standing desks help students with attention and focus. Then, Lehmann found more studies showing that standing desks cut down on students leaving the classroom for breaks.

“I had this epiphany,” Lehmann said. “I thought, ‘this would be so great to have in my room!’”

At the beginning of the school year, Lehmann discussed her idea with special education teachers Naomi Rosenthal and Jeffrey Blue. Both Rosenthal and Blue were excited. The three teachers collaborated to write the grant proposal together.

The Wayland Public School Foundation awarded the grant of $1,100 to purchase eight standing desks. Lehmann has four of the desks in her room, and Blue and Rosenthal each have two in their LRT rooms.

“When I introduced the desks, there was a lot of competition to use them,” Lehmann said. “Students who were using the desks yesterday were fully engaged throughout the entire class. In fact, I would say they were my heaviest participators.”

First come first serve is Lehmann’s current policy. She is not reserving the desks for certain students because she thinks the desks can benefit anyone. She wants students to claim the desks for themselves on days when they most need to stand. Lehmann says she will modify her policy going forward if she needs to.

Lehmann is keeping a log to track any changes in behavior or grades from students using the desks.

Lehmann acknowledges that students might not want to stand all day long, especially while taking notes. She doesn’t want every desk in the school to be a standing desk. Nonetheless, she views the eight desks as a pilot program. She hopes to see more standing desks at Wayland High School in the future.

“As a teacher, I’m standing and walking around all day, and I’m not uncomfortable doing that,” Lehmann said. “All of the research really does indicate that standing while you’re working is beneficial physically and mentally.”

Lehmann says she’s grateful for Wayland Public Schools Foundation and for the opportunity to apply for grants.

“I feel really lucky that I go to a school where, if I can justify my idea, it will be supported,” she said.