New sensory rooms planned at Quaker Valley Middle School and Edgeworth Elementary

Quaker Valley School District officials know life can be stressful for their young learners.

Managing school work, extracurricular activities, home life and other situations can sometimes cause students to feel overwhelmed.

That’s why the district plans to create two new sensory rooms, one at the middle school and one at Edgeworth Elementary, to help students “reset” their days.

They are therapeutic spaces designed to provide a variety of sensory experiences allowing people to calm down, regulate their emotions and focus, according to Jennifer Shroads, director of student services.

“A sensory room really has a bunch of different opportunities for students — opportunities for relaxation, for fidgeting, for sensory input,” she said. “There are different lights. There are different noises. There are different feedback pieces. … It’s also very strategic in the strategy and the creation so we can teach students skills and teach them to use that as a resource.”

Amenities include tactile surfaces such as therapy balls and weighted blankets, sound and light systems including bubble tubes and interactive walls, and lighting fixtures like bubble lamps, lava lamps and pastel-colored lights.

School board members unanimously voted on Nov. 25 to approve a $46,523 proposal from Fun & Function LLC for the equipment at both schools.

Purchase pricing is through COSTARS, the state’s cooperative purchasing program that helps districts and municipalities get the best prices on goods and services. The project is being funded by a School Safety and Mental Health grant through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Shroads said the rooms selected at the middle school and Edgeworth to be repurposed will not displace any educational programs.

The hope is to have the rooms ready in the coming months with coordination through the district’s School-Wide Positive Behavior Support and school counselors.

“The designs that we have for both of those spaces are age-appropriate and are created with our students in mind so that they are very purposeful in what they are going to offer our students in resources and options,” Shroads said. “Some of our students have (room access) designed in their day. Other students may go through the counseling department and in talking with our school counselors may access the room.

”It will truly be available to any student who needs that — not just students that have certain plans in place or certain diagnoses.”

There are 412 students at Edgeworth and 427 at the middle school.

Leah Wells, school psychologist at Edgeworth and assistant to the director of student services, believes the room will be a great benefit.

“The sensory room at Edgeworth Elementary will provide a safe, comfortable and calming environment for our youngest learners presenting with sensory processing difficulties,” Wells said. “The intended purpose of the room is to assist students in the development of self-regulation skills. It will offer visual, tactile and auditory stimulation based on the needs of each child.”

School counselors or other professionals would supervise the students in the rooms; room usage is logged.

Osborne Elementary has had a sensory room for at least the last few school years. It was created using federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds that were distributed as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

More than 860 logged visits took place last school year.

Principal Benny Canan said it is often called the “reset room.” It’s used by students one at a time on an as-needed basis.

“The sensory room is really a nice break for kids for a variety of purposes,” he said.

“Whether they are missing mom or dad, or they had a pet die, or going through something at home, or are having an off-day. It’s a nice way they can step out of class, go for a walk; different things to help get their mind off of what is bothering them.”

There are 398 students at Osborne Elementary.