HARVEY, Ill.—To decorate her kindergarten classroom for the new school year, Lori Baker chose cheerful alphabet and number charts featuring smiling children of different races. In the reading ...

Her classroom in Northern Idaho is now bathed in brown, cream and beige, for a “homey, cozy feeling,” as the 27-year-old teacher puts it. Thrifted bohemian rugs, groovy flower pillows ...

This comes after a teacher’s group on Sunday urged DepEd to clarify what classroom decorations are “unnecessary ... “Take out everything on the wall. Let learners focus on their studies.