School districts are building student wellness centers, , and calming corners to help students take a break from the stresses of the school day, and, in some cases, get mental health assistance before returning to class.
It鈥檚 one of the many ways that districts are trying to respond to rising mental health challenges among students. Requests for these safe havens often come from teachers and staff, but students are asking for them, too.
Jennifer Bitton, an assistant principal at Lehi High School in Utah鈥檚 Alpine district, helped build the school system鈥檚 first student wellness center at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs. While Bitton was researching how to do so in 2019, a student died by suicide; By the time the center opened in spring 2020, just before the pandemic, three students had died, she said.
鈥淭his is my 29th year in education, so I have been around a long time, and I have seen the gradual decline in the social-emotional health of kids,鈥� Bitton said. 鈥淚 knew something like this could help. I know it鈥檚 not going to catch every kid, and it鈥檚 not going to solve every problem.鈥�
But, she said, student wellness centers can be a solid intervention for students who need support beyond what teachers are able to offer in the classroom.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have anything like that in schools,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e would have kids go to the counseling office, and they would sit there with their hoodies pulled over their heads鈥攂ecause they needed someplace to go鈥攚hile people were coming in and out ... Or they would have to sit there and wait two hours in order to see somebody. That was one of the things I wanted to resolve.鈥�
If you鈥檙e thinking of building a student wellness center, here are some tips from Bitton.
Involve the people in the school
Get input and buy-in from those in the building, including teachers, counselors, and students.
It was student feedback, for example, that led to 鈥淲ellness Wednesday,鈥� when the center hosts sessions on mental health and social-emotional well-being on topics chosen by students. Topics have included how food affects mood, toxic relationships, meditation, and talking to parents.
It was also students who recommended adding weighted blankets to the soothing amenities, the center鈥檚 most popular item for decompressing.
Think about the design and the amenities
From textures, to lighting, to the light blue walls, to the fabrics used in the converted math classroom, 鈥渆verything was done with intention,鈥� Bitton said.
There are adult coloring books, Rubik鈥檚 cubes, weighted blankets, clay, kinetic sand, a miniature Zen garden, and other things to help students self-regulate, she said.
There鈥檚 also snacks, including hot chocolate.
A trained staff member can improve students鈥� experience
Having a wellness coordinator is critical to the center鈥檚 success, Bitton said.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just stick an untrained aide in there, or a paraeducator,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou need to have somebody [who is] trained and licensed to help these kids鈥攚hether that鈥檚 a social worker, or a counselor, a school counselor, a behavioral therapist.鈥�
The coordinator has to be someone who can triage students, if necessary, she said. But that person also has to be skilled at building trusting relationships with students.
Doing something is better than nothing. So many times we have this perfect thing in our heads. Sometimes that鈥檚 just not possible.
The wellness coordinator at Westlake was a licensed family counselor, whose services were underwritten by IM Foundation, a Utah-based nonprofit that focuses on student emotional well-being.
鈥淚 have seen schools ... attempt to create wellness centers, and it鈥檚 failed,鈥� Bitton said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 because of the person.鈥�
Bitton recalls filling in for her former school鈥檚 coordinator. Students came in to ask for the coordinator, and when Bitton said the coordinator was out for the day, they鈥檇 turn around and leave.
That鈥檚 because the coordinator had 鈥渄eveloped a relationship with these kids,鈥� Bitton said.
Give students options
While many students are seeking quiet, some actually want to talk.
The student wellness center Bitton created includes options for students to have solitude and to discuss what they were experiencing with a counselor.
鈥淜ids come for all kinds of reasons鈥攊t could be my boyfriend broke up with me, or my girlfriend, my cat died, my parents were arguing this morning, or they were mad at me this morning, divorced, all kinds of things kids come to the wellness center for,鈥� she said.
There鈥檚 a check-in system where students answer questions, ranking their emotions and what brought them to the center that day.
鈥淓verything is kept for the purposes of figuring out triggers: Is it math class, is it third period, is it [that it鈥檚] before lunch?鈥� Bitton said.
The wellness coordinator inquires whether the students want to talk or be by themselves. Their goal is not necessarily to provide counseling services.
鈥淭hey are just there to help kids understand their own emotions and process those,鈥� Bitton said. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 that that [student] is overwhelmed with school, do they need to go see their academic counselor, are they having thoughts of suicide?鈥�
Think of the wellness center as 鈥渁 triage for the counseling center in a school,鈥� Bitton said.
鈥淢any of the kids don鈥檛 see anybody, they just need a place to decompress and manage themselves and then go through the rest of their day,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are a few who need something more; so the wellness coordinator figures out what that is and gets the students to the proper place.鈥�
And for those who want to be alone, the center includes tools to help manage their emotions. They can take a timer and spend 20 minutes alone.
鈥淎fter 20 minutes, we are finding that 80 percent of students are ready to go back to class, and 20 percent need a little bit more,鈥� Bitton said, citing data from the first month the center opened.
Many of the kids don鈥檛 see anybody, they just need a place to decompress and manage themselves and then go through the rest of their day.
On their way out, students also fill out a form on how they are doing and reflect on whether the center helped them and how. That feedback also helps staff improve.
Make it a no-permission thing
Students don鈥檛 need permission to go to the wellness center.
They make eye contact with the teacher and use one of the two wellness center passes available in every class to leave the room.
An unintended positive effect of having the center was that more children were staying in school all day, Bitton said.
鈥淲hen kids were having a panic attack or when they鈥檙e having a rough time in school, they鈥檒l go the bathroom and they鈥檒l suffer in the bathroom, or they鈥檒l call their parents and say, 鈥楥an you come get me?鈥� 鈥� Bitton said. 鈥淭he wellness center allowed them to actually stay in school because they had a place to go, and they had someone in there who could help them.鈥�
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 anticipate that, or even think about that, but it鈥檚 definitely helped鈥� with attendance, Bitton said.
Destigmatize going to the center
It was students who asked the adults to work on destigmatizing going to the wellness center.
鈥淲e, as adults, have different perceptions,鈥� Bitton said. 鈥淪ometimes when you think things are awesome, kids have a different idea. They wanted us to work on the stigma [around mental health] more.鈥�
The student wellness center is introduced to Westlake鈥檚 10th graders during health class and students are also given a tour, so that by their sixth or eighth week in school they already know about it and how it works, she said. (Westlake serves grades 10-12.) The school鈥檚 video production class also made a video about the center to inform students.
And 鈥淲ellness Wednesday,鈥� where students discuss mental health and social-emotional issues, have brought more students into the center. It鈥檚 also become a kind of gathering place for students to meet before the bell rings, Bitton said.
Parents are also taken on tours during back-to-school conferences and parent-teacher conferences. And the center is also featured in a wellness message in the principal鈥檚 weekly email to parents.
鈥淲e really worked hard to reduce the stigma going there to where it became just a normal room in our building and just a normal part of the day,鈥� Bitton said.
Draw on outside support
When Bitton got the idea for the center, school funds had already been divvied up for the year. But someone in the community worked for IM Foundation, which was starting to fund wellness centers in schools, and connected Bitton with the foundation.
Bitton鈥檚 was the first, and the foundation covered the cost of the in-house licensed family counselor.
While the foundation underwrote the counselor, they were considered part of the staff, were involved in staff meetings, and reported to Bitton, she said.
Local businesses answered the call for donations and chipped in money to get the center up and running. So did the school district.
The entire project鈥攎inus the counselor鈥攃ost about $8,000, which included furniture, paint, and other accessories.
Principals who are prioritizing mental health can easily find that money in their school budgets by shifting funds around, Bitton said.
Bitton has had some time to think about what she鈥檇 do differently if she has the chance to do it again. For one thing, she鈥檇 do even more parent and community outreach, including adding a wellness brochure to give the center greater prominence beyond the blurb in the principal鈥檚 weekly newsletter.
She鈥檇 also spend more time getting staff buy-in, including giving them the chance to spend time in the center and try it out.
Bitton remains convinced the student wellness center was the right intervention for the school at the time, and that similar programs can help other schools reach students who are struggling.
鈥淒oing something is better than nothing,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o many times we have this perfect thing in our heads. Sometimes that鈥檚 just not possible.鈥�
