Hillsboro Wellness Center classrooms teach students to handle strong emotions

Fourth grader Chloe Beagley (left) and first grader Aubrey Mares share a toy in the Rosedale Elementary Wellness Center classroom. Instructor Alice Scholerman brings different grade levels into the classroom at the same time, giving older children a chance to show leadership. (Photo by Jake Arnold, OSBA)

First grader Aubrey Mares talks confidently about her tools for dealing with strong emotions, such as when she is becoming upset.

“You just have to pause and cool down,” she said. “It’s called the pause tool.”

Aubrey is molding Play-Doh in the Rosedale Elementary Wellness Center classroom, a softly lit room with a variety of tactile activity stations. Gentle music plays in the background, with an occasional bird chirp, and a soothing nature video plays on a large screen.

Hillsboro School District’s Wellness Center program sets aside special rooms for teaching students how to regulate their emotions and behaviors before they have a disruptive problem.

The Hillsboro model offers a districtwide approach to preventing what teachers and students describe as a classroom safety crisis. An increasing number of students with unaddressed mental health needs has led to an unprecedented learning environment disruption, according to an Oregon Education Association report earlier this year. The Joint Committee on Student Success, after touring Oregon schools for a year, found that students’ social and emotional needs have been unmet for years.

In 2016, Hillsboro opened Wellness Centers in six elementary schools with the most behavior problems. According to the district, the program led to reduced behavior referrals and suspensions, as well as less staff absenteeism. In 2017-18, the district added nine schools, including a middle school and a high school.

Jennifer Johnson, program coordinator, said the classrooms create a safe and soothing space where all children are taught how to recognize and regulate their emotions, allowing them to stay focused on learning.

Johnson stressed that the Wellness Center classrooms are not decompression spaces or places to send problem-behavior children when they blow up.

“We are skills building, not counseling,” said Johnson, Hillsboro School District climate and culture teacher on special assignment. “We’re strictly a preventative model.”

Teachers recommend children who need the help, but students can also ask for access.

Aubrey lists some lessons learned for use after leaving the classroom: squeezing a soft toy, walking around, deep breathing, stretching, hugging.

“When you get so frustrated, it helps your body calm down,” she said. Aubrey is so excited about her tools that she is sharing them with friends.

Aubrey’s mother, Michelle Freeman, enthusiastically supports the program. She said Aubrey had some difficulties when she started school but the Wellness Center lessons have helped Aubrey’s behavior in school, at home and with other activities.

“It’s been a godsend,” Freeman said. “It’s just sort of ingrained in her now.”

Rosedale has nearly 500 students, and all have been to the classroom at least a half-dozen times this school year. Nearly 70 students attend at least once a week, according to Wellness Center instructor Alice Scholerman.

Each classroom has a dedicated instructor. Scholerman, who runs the Rosedale classroom, takes the lessons out into the school as well, visiting classrooms a few times a year to give students strategies for handling emotions. Scholerman has also created a YouTube channel to help students practice tools and share them with parents.

The Rosedale classroom has stations with puzzles, yarn, sandboxes, comfy chairs, dark spaces, yoga mats and more. Scholerman engages students as they enter. Sometimes she shows them a skill or discusses how they are feeling; other times she lets them work in their own space.

Fourth grader Chloe Beagley said the best part of the classroom is hanging out with Scholerman.

“She’s calm and she’s always really nice,” Chloe said

Not all adults are calm, but Chloe said she has learned skills to deal with their frustration, such as getting another adult to help discuss the situation.

“Instead of getting frustrated back, you can talk in a calm voice and tell them not to get so mad,” she said.

Chloe said she feels more confident knowing she has skills to deal with both her own frustrations and the frustrations of those around her.

Scholerman said the program also helps students cope when their peers are struggling in upsetting ways.

Johnson said the program isn’t a quick fix or a stand-alone solution. The classrooms are one component in an overall trauma-informed care effort to improve a school’s environment based on understanding adverse events can affect students and they can, in turn, affect peers and teachers.

Hillsboro has expanded the program carefully because it requires a cultural shift from staff and the community to recognize the importance of emotional skill development, Johnson said. It requires a common language and ongoing effort and staff training.

The district is also working to help school staff with their emotional health, offering training and calming spaces in schools.

“It’s a whole-school approach,” she said.

Budget constraints have limited the program’s growth, but Johnson said the district is hopeful it will be able to use money from the Student Success Act to add schools. The recently passed Student Success Act is expected to create about $500 million a year in grants for schools, with an emphasis on promoting social and emotional health.

In practice, that looks something like this: First grader Samson Eyassu dips his hands in a tub of water with squishy orbs in it.

“It’s so relaxing,” he said. Samson said he is feeling “green.” Students have learned to identify their emotions by colored “zones of regulation.” Green is relaxed. Samson said he has learned to notice what he is feeling and how to get back to green.

“It’s important to know what your emotions are so you can stay relaxed and stay in control,” he said.

- Jake Arnold, OSBA
jarnold@osba.org

 First grader Samson Eyassu’s favorite spot in the Rosedale Elementary Wellness Center classroom is a tub of water filled with squishy, colored orbs. (Photo by Jake Arnold, OSBA)