SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio ISD plans to add peace rooms to 25 different middle and high schools beginning in January.
The room, meant for all students, has an ambience that can only be described as cozy, relaxing or inviting.
"These rooms are a space where students can go when they're experiencing a heightened emotion, when they need to work through conflict or generally build social, emotional, behavioral and mental health skills to successfully navigate their environment," said Dawn Kulpa, executive director for social, emotional, and academic development at SAISD. "As human beings, we engage with so many learning environment situations throughout our day, and so this is a place where they can go to receive support and working through those needs."
The concept isn't new to SAISD. Several campuses including the Young Men's Leadership Academy have created their own and have found it effective.
"We've noticed a remarkable downward trend of students who are suspended or students who are kept out of class or students who simply missed out on learning," said Principal Derrick Brown. "We offer meditation in the peace rooms and sometimes [when] a student comes into school with an issue that could turn into a bigger issue, it can be resolved by a few minutes in the peace room, talking about your issues, just sitting alone with your self, regaining your balance, and then reentering the classroom space with with no loss of classroom learning time."
The peace room at the Young Men's Leadership Academy features bean bag chairs arranged in a circle, with flowy white curtains, and string lights. Principal Brown admits there was an adjustment period, though he wishes the school had added a peace room sooner, calling it necessary for students inundated with modern technology.
"We're teaching young men how to self-regulate, but how to ask for what their needs are, how to explore within their own selves what they're experiencing in a heightened moment," he said. "We find that boys respond very well to having a time out during the day, to meditate, to reflect, and we actually call it half time."
The district has committed over 2 million dollars to add peace rooms similar in concept to the one at Young Men's Leadership Academy. The funds will go towards purchasing additional furniture, adding sensory items, and creating informative posters teaching students calming techniques.
San Antonio ISD also applied for the Recast grant from Bexar County to add additional training related to restorative care and trauma-informed care. The district will know in the fall whether it'll receive the $200,000.
"Our students are asking for these types of support," Kulpa said. "They have been very vocal in their advocacy for multiple layers of support for social, emotional, behavioral and mental health needs, and this is one of those where they have specifically requested a restorative approach to discipline. "
The district plans to open peace rooms at 10 campuses in January.