By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Plainville USD 270 is using grant money to create rooms to help staff and students deal with difficult emotions.
The school district received a $5,403 grant from the Heartland Community Foundation for the purchase of necessary supplies to create de-escalation rooms at each district school building.
The rooms will offer students and staff places to lessen anxiety or briefly reset following a stressful event.
"With COVID, it has been quite stressful on everyone, including teachers, staff and, of course, our students" Plainville Superintendent Lisa Gehring said.
There will be two rooms at the elementary school — one for staff and one for students.
What was a workroom is being transformed into a room in which teachers and staff can relax. The room will have a tables and chairs, as well as a Keurig.
The second room will be for students. The district is combining the Heartland grant funds with money from a state grant to create a combination de-escalation/sensory room for the kids. The room is supposed to help kids regroup, relax and refocus their energy.
The children's room will feature a hammock chair, as well as other comfortable and flexible seating, such as a rocking chair and yoga ball. The students will also have sensory items, such as stress balls and fidget spinners.
The room will have items on the wall that highlight a variety of textures. Gehring said the sensory items are meant to distract the students from the worrisome thoughts or troubling feelings they may be experiencing.
The room at the junior/senior high school will be adjacent to the counselor's office. It will have a couch, table and chairs, as well as a Keurig.
"Our students as well as our staff will be able to go in there and either relax for a few minutes on their own or visit with a staff member or have that opportunity to relax for a little bit," she said.
"As I mentioned in the beginning, through all of this, it has been extremely stressful, and we wanted our students and our staff to know how much we care about them and we recognize that this time may be extra difficult."
The staff room at the elementary school and the room at the junior/senior high school are nearing completion. The district is waiting on delivery of furniture. The school hopes to complete the student room at the elementary school this spring.
The time spent in one of the de-escalation rooms will vary depending on the student and the nature of their distress. A child might spend a few minutes in the room or an entire class period, Gehring said.
COVID has been tough on everyone, she said.
Groups of students have had to be in modified quarantines. If a student in a class or on an athletic team tested positive, the rest of the students in that group were allowed to be on campus, but were isolated from the rest of the school.
Even when children are not in quarantine, children at the elementary school are kept in cohort groups, so they might not be able to play at recess with friends from another class.
Gehring said the students have been very good about wearing their masks and have been doing whatever is asked of them.
"Our students have really done an amazing job," she said. "They have been very flexible and adaptable. I couldn't be more proud of them."
Stresses from home also can carry over into the school day. Some families have had members who have been unable to work, children have not been bale to spend time with their extended families and some kids have also lost loved ones to COVID.
"It's really been hard on all of them, our parents and guardians included," Gehring said. "That takes a toll on our kids, as well."