Mayflower Middle School is one of 75 Arkansas schools that have received funding for the creation of a calming room from the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
According to data from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, more than 14 percent of children and teens deal with anxiety and depression. The goal of these calming rooms are to give students a quiet place to reflect and refocus in order to help them perform their best in the classroom.
“The same way students have difficulty focusing in class when they are hungry or tired, they can’t be their best selves in the classroom or at home if they are dealing with issues like stress and anxiety,” Curtis Barnett, the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield President and CEO, said. “In recognition of Arkansas Blue Cross’ 75th Anniversary and our company’s commitment to improving access to behavioral health resources, we are investing in the creation of calming rooms in 75 Arkansas schools as one way to support better mental health for students.”
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced Friday the 75 schools, one from each of the state’s counties, that have been selected to received $2,500 each in order to create these calming rooms that would help address the mental well-being of Arkansas students.
Calming rooms often feature soft lighting, tranquil colors, comfortable furniture and positive and inspirational messages as well as journals, coloring books and other sensory objects.
“In addition to improved behavioral health, schools with calming rooms have reported additional benefits such as fewer disciplinary issues and better grades,” Barnett said. “Young people these days face challenges many of us didn’t have growing up, like cyberbullying. Learning how to cope with difficult things in a healthy way is a tool they can carry with them through adulthood.”
Mayflower Middle School, and the other 74 schools selected for the funding, will each individually oversee the rules and usage of their calming rooms based on the needs of their students and these calming rooms can also be used for counseling sessions and group discussions.
The Calming Rooms must be completed by May and Mayflower Middle School’s plan is to enhance its current counseling classroom to include areas for calming, de-escalation and refocus.
The Mayflower Middle School Calming Room will available for students and teachers seven periods a day, as well as one period for classes.
“When I learned about this grant, my mind went to work imagining students and teachers entering a welcoming room with mood lighting, flexible seating, centers for learning self-management of emotions,” Jennifer Lee, Mayflower Middle School counselor, said. “I completed Arkansas THRIVE this fall and feel that our calming room fits well with our state’s initiative to develop infrastructures that will best support positive behavior and mental health.”
The company announced its Take Good Care Calming Room initiative back in July and started accepting applications from schools across the state for these calming room in August.
“Arkansas Blue Cross did not receive applications from schools in all 75 counties as initially hoped,” Barnett said, “but we still wanted to fund 75 rooms, so we looked closely at the applications and were able to select additional schools in a few counties.”
