Cucumber water on tap. Soft, fluffy bean bags that feel like body hugs. The sound of a soothing waterfall. The serene spirit of the spa has slipped into schools in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD), and officials say these expanded “wellness rooms” have created a wave of calm in students across the district.
“A campus wellness room staffed with a qualified, caring wellness teacher creates an
immediate response to students’ social-emotional needs,” says Julianne Reynoso, PUSD’s assistant superintendent of Student Wellness and Support Services. “These rooms invite students to relax for a short time and reflect on how to improve school interactions.”
PUSD schools have repurposed pre-existing spaces into rooms that include aromatherapy, soothing sounds, calm lighting, kinetic sand, slime, fidget toys, lemon or cucumber water, bean bag chairs and murals. Experienced Response to Intervention (RTI) teachers and behavior specialists staff the peaceful rooms. While PUSD has provided wellness professionals at all sites for years, previously these calm rooms were also used for discipline, whereas the current spaces are not.
McKinley School specialists handle a wide range of issues for elementary and middle
school students. Behavior teacher Linda Ortega says the rooms offer a safe place for kids to regroup, usually for 10-15 minutes. “I have seen some positive changes in the students,” Ortega says. “They’re taking a minute to think about how they should react when someone is making fun of them or when they’re getting bullied on the playground. I’m working with them on coping strategies, [such as asking], ‘What can you do in lieu of putting your hands on another child?’”
“I think it’s really cool,” says Kai, a 5th grader at Sierra Madre Elementary School. “ I really like the bean bags and the lights and the smell…and all the stuff you can do when you need to get your energy out or calm down.”
All PUSD Student Wellness and Support Services can be found at pusd.us/wellness.