The intent of a Calming Corner is to give youth access to space and strategy to deal with stressors in their lives—without the need to leave the supervision of their primary classroom during the day.
We are piloting this program in the 2024-2025 school year, and hope to make this available to other locations in 2025-2026.
Payton's Project hopes to start funding Calming Corners in elementary school classrooms.
Calming Corners are meant to fill the same role as a Wellness Room, offering the chance for youth to gain distance and perspective on what's upsetting them, without the need for them to leave classroom supervision.
In our pilot, we're learning how these spaces will be used, what resources we can offer in them, and what the initial cost and maintenance requirements will be. Our application will remain open through this time, and we will do our best to stay in communication until we're closer to bringing this into more locations.
Calming Corners Grants are awarded at the Payton's Project Board's discretion to schools that can offer use of the spaces to all students. Specific requirements will be added here when we know what they need to be.
We currently aim to award approximately $100 per classroom, with a later award to replace and replenish used materials. This is something we're likely to change as we learn more.
We hope to see Wellness Rooms or Calming Corners in every school in the future. These spaces let youth discover and practice coping strategies that respect their feelings and promote self-regulation - skills that will continue to apply to life at every level. The goal of a Wellness Room or Calming Corner is to teach these skills, promote resilience, and destigmatize mental health.
Think your school has the resources for a Wellness Room instead? Click Here to Learn More.