My 2 4th grade classes were the ones who made the most growth in the whole school as per the end of the year testing and it was all done with rows, albeit rows in pairs because the tables were two seaters. Problem was there wasn't room for a carpet and for much sitting together in front of the board stuff. Point being, I think rows get too much flack, and I think a lot of the often student-centered philosophy around that is kinda unconvincing to me. I had a good relationship with the kids and managed to create a calm and homey classroom environment while nonetheless being austere and coldly efficient in my teaching methods and classroom management. They learned and behaved and seemed to feel well enough throughout.
Last year, we the teachers directly signed students out ourselves in a binder due to COVID protocols, but we would have them sign themselves out through a school-wide Google Form on classroom iPads in previous years. Sarah had a printed sign-out sheet on her door.
