We have been in both traditional classrooms and the open structure. Both of my kids have focus issues, with DD being pretty extreme. We had tried headphones (noise blocking and also music or white noise), earplugs, etc. She said that she felt like she was in hell. She WANTS to hear everything going on and seeks out the stimulation. Yet at the same time she gets irritated when her concentration is disrupted. I don't know what the answer is, but the traditional classroom wasn't better because it was way too crowded. The schools weren't built to pack 25-35 kids in a classroom. So then they end up grouping desks together anyway, and she was surrounded on all sides by kids with their desks adjoining. Since the rooms were small, it became very loud, whereas in the open format schools there was more space and at least the noise came across more like a constant background buzz. I guess what I'm trying to say is that either way it's bad news for DD. I think it depends a lot more on the teacher and how the teacher manages the class rather than the actual space and whether there are walls.
The nice thing is about the open structure is that the teachers can group the kids according to ability level much more easily than a traditional classroom. So they go to one teacher for reading, a different one for math, etc. DS goes from 2nd grade to 5th grade for math, which is not a big deal because 5th grade is right there in the same area. Then the 5th grade itself is ability grouped so he is placed in a group doing 6th grade math. It's flexible so kids can be moved around if necessary.
