Esko opens new learning space

It's a Friday morning not long before Christmas break, and several groups of Esko high school students are sitting - chatting, studying and looking at their phones or tablets - in a new "flexible learning space" built just for them in the center of school. Tables sit along the wall and in nooks in a large open carpeted area, with talking, drinks and snacks allowed. The open space is surrounded by five glassed-in conference rooms for small-group work and a coffee shop is opening soon.

Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer likened the learning space to a commons area, a modern open space where stude...