Calm Room at West

A post-pandemic, hectic lifestyle is the norm for students. School coupled with the challenges of home lives, relationships, health, and being a teenager in general leads to larger feelings of anxiety, depression, or anger. A study conducted by New York University concluded, “Nearly half (49%) of all [high school] students reported feeling a great deal of stress on a daily basis and 31 percent reported feeling somewhat stressed.” Working to combat these feelings of stress, schools around the district, and the country, have started Calm Rooms as a way for students to work through their emotions. 

A new facility here at West became available to students who may need a quick reset for their social-emotional health during the school day. The Calm Room, facilitated by Stacy Straight, is a place for students to decompress and take a minute, or twenty, to gather their emotions or process their feelings before jumping back into the often overwhelming, anxiety-inducing world of school. Providing fidget toys, snacks, blankets, quiet activities, and places to rest (like bean bags), the Calm Room is exactly as it sounds, calm. 

If a student feels that there is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed beyond a quick reset, the Calm Room is a great place to start. Ms. Straight can assist in getting help from counselors, a social worker, or outside-district help to get students the care they deserve. When asked about social-emotional health, Straight said, “There are already so many struggles right now with social-emotional-health among students, with the shared trauma of the pandemic, so I think it's really important.” Finishing her master’s degree to become a licensed clinical social worker, Ms. Straight is equipped with resources such as contact information and knowledge of mental health to help students take the first step in bettering their social-emotional well-being.

Facilitating the Calm Room since the beginning of the year, Ms. Straight and the Calm Room have already made an impact on West students’ lives. Straight said she has noticed a big difference in kids who come in, rest or talk about their feelings, and leave, even after ten to twenty minutes in the room, feeling much better, ready to face the rest of their day. Straight, an advocate for social-emotional health aid in schools, said, “I think every school district needs to have more social-emotional health resources.” With Calm Rooms becoming more popular around the nation, those resources are becoming more accessible than ever before.

Social and emotional learning not only affects students' personal lives but their academic success as well. Education North West found that, “School-based social-emotional and character development programs can influence academic-related outcomes.” The Calm Room is a great resource for students to reset their minds and start believing that they can work through tough times in life. When they do have faith that they are capable of pushing through hard times, that can-do attitude will be reflected in their academic success.

Students can visit the Calm Room anytime during the school day except for B lunch. All staff members at West have been informed of the Calm Room and can give students a pass to it whenever they need it. Currently, located in an office space in the library that Ms. Beazizo has kindly lent for this purpose, the Calm Room will move to the new T-wing once construction is completed. For more information about the Calm Room and its benefits to students, contact the facilitator, Stacy Straight straight_stacy@salkeiz.k12.or.us