Freeport is latest school district to create space where students can just chillax
The calming room at Freeport's Caroline G. Atkinson School offers fitth- and sixth-graders soft lighting, comfy seating, inspirational messages and soothing music and scenes. Credit: Howard Schnapp
All eight schools in the Freeport district now have a “calming room” — a safe space where students can go to decompress — spotlighting a growing need among educators to address student mental health and wellness.
The Freeport district is the latest on Long Island to create a designated space for students to relax and work through emotions. Several other schools, including in the Valley Stream 30 and Three Village districts, have created similar rooms in the past few years to promote student wellness.
Freeport officials said they were prompted to create calming rooms in all their schools after they and health care workers noticed what is part of a nationwide uptick in anxiety and stress in children in recent years, even pre-pandemic. Leading pediatric groups have declared a national state of emergency in children’s mental health. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 17% of the country's 12- to 17-year-olds, or about 4.1 million youths, said they had at least one major depressive episode in 2020.
“Within the last six years or so, we’ve seen an increase in the mental health crisis,” said Helen Kanellopoulos, assistant superintendent of pupil personnel services and special education for the district. “So, we want to get ahead of it and make sure that we're educating our students, not only in academics, but how to be socially and emotionally ready to learn and be successful in life."
At Freeport schools, students can visit the rooms to manage their emotions, as a reward or for daily breaks, Kanellopoulos said.
The room at Caroline G. Atkinson School, which serves fifth- and sixth-graders, is outfitted with soft lighting, comfy seating and inspirational messages scrawled across the wall. In the rooms, students can listen to calming music or watch a tranquil scene on a computer. The outside of the door is covered with a simple message: "Relax."
The rooms, which the district first started using in the 2021-22 academic year, have “become a space that my students felt comfortable in,” said Maria Ngai, a fifth-grade teacher at Atkinson, adding the rooms are another tool for the district to use in helping students prioritize wellness. The district, which serves about 6,500 students, added the last room ahead of this academic year and spent $100,000 on the initiative.
So who can use the rooms? Anyone, officials said. The rooms aren’t just for children with an individualized educational plan or who see a social worker or school counselor. Students having a difficult moment or rough day can use the rooms privately under the eye of a school employee. Just as adults get daily breaks, so too should children, Kanellopoulos said.
The rooms, outfitted with calming colors, like glowing blue and red lights, and elements of nature, like a video projected onto the wall of ocean creatures, were created with the guidance of Northwell Health doctors. Dr. Vera Feuer, associate vice president for School Mental Health, told Newsday the coronavirus pandemic has worsened mental health issues among children. She said she finds that academic competition and social media contribute to deteriorating student mental health and suicidal thoughts.
“We are definitely seeing a lot more kids struggling with anxiety, depression, school avoidance,” Feuer said. “We’re seeing, this year in particular, lots of young kids with behavioral problems, having difficulty navigating social situations, managing their behaviors, managing emotions, really learning how to regulate themselves.”
To combat this, Freeport also offers wellness-centered lessons from SKY Schools, which offers breathing techniques, meditation and yoga to help students cope with their mental health. Incorporating it daily helps destigmatize it, school officials told Newsday.
Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said the district is considering the addition of wellness centers on campuses next year.
“This is seen as a welcome change,” he said. “Our work continues.”
All eight schools in the Freeport district now have a “calming room” — a safe space where students can go to decompress — spotlighting a growing need among educators to address student mental health and wellness.
The Freeport district is the latest on Long Island to create a designated space for students to relax and work through emotions. Several other schools, including in the Valley Stream 30 and Three Village districts, have created similar rooms in the past few years to promote student wellness.
Freeport officials said they were prompted to create calming rooms in all their schools after they and health care workers noticed what is part of a nationwide uptick in anxiety and stress in children in recent years, even pre-pandemic. Leading pediatric groups have declared a national state of emergency in children’s mental health. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 17% of the country's 12- to 17-year-olds, or about 4.1 million youths, said they had at least one major depressive episode in 2020.
“Within the last six years or so, we’ve seen an increase in the mental health crisis,” said Helen Kanellopoulos, assistant superintendent of pupil personnel services and special education for the district. “So, we want to get ahead of it and make sure that we're educating our students, not only in academics, but how to be socially and emotionally ready to learn and be successful in life."
At Freeport schools, students can visit the rooms to manage their emotions, as a reward or for daily breaks, Kanellopoulos said.
A calming room like this one at Freeport's Caroline G. Atkinson School helps students prioritize wellness, a fifth-grade teacher at the school said. Credit: Howard Schnapp
The room at Caroline G. Atkinson School, which serves fifth- and sixth-graders, is outfitted with soft lighting, comfy seating and inspirational messages scrawled across the wall. In the rooms, students can listen to calming music or watch a tranquil scene on a computer. The outside of the door is covered with a simple message: "Relax."
The rooms, which the district first started using in the 2021-22 academic year, have “become a space that my students felt comfortable in,” said Maria Ngai, a fifth-grade teacher at Atkinson, adding the rooms are another tool for the district to use in helping students prioritize wellness. The district, which serves about 6,500 students, added the last room ahead of this academic year and spent $100,000 on the initiative.
So who can use the rooms? Anyone, officials said. The rooms aren’t just for children with an individualized educational plan or who see a social worker or school counselor. Students having a difficult moment or rough day can use the rooms privately under the eye of a school employee. Just as adults get daily breaks, so too should children, Kanellopoulos said.
The rooms, outfitted with calming colors, like glowing blue and red lights, and elements of nature, like a video projected onto the wall of ocean creatures, were created with the guidance of Northwell Health doctors. Dr. Vera Feuer, associate vice president for School Mental Health, told Newsday the coronavirus pandemic has worsened mental health issues among children. She said she finds that academic competition and social media contribute to deteriorating student mental health and suicidal thoughts.
“We are definitely seeing a lot more kids struggling with anxiety, depression, school avoidance,” Feuer said. “We’re seeing, this year in particular, lots of young kids with behavioral problems, having difficulty navigating social situations, managing their behaviors, managing emotions, really learning how to regulate themselves.”
To combat this, Freeport also offers wellness-centered lessons from SKY Schools, which offers breathing techniques, meditation and yoga to help students cope with their mental health. Incorporating it daily helps destigmatize it, school officials told Newsday.
Superintendent Kishore Kuncham said the district is considering the addition of wellness centers on campuses next year.
“This is seen as a welcome change,” he said. “Our work continues.”
Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.
