Wellness Rooms are reset spaces within a school where youth can step away from stressors in the classroom and address the issue, so they can return quickly to actually learning in the classroom. They are not hidden places, but can be made private if needed.
Payton's Project offers funding for Wellness Rooms in schools with the space, counseling and staffing capabilities to support them.
These are rooms where a student can get the guidance of a counselor to calm down, identify problems, and learn to address the source of the stress.
Wellness Room Grants are awarded at the Payton's Project Board's discretion to schools that can offer use of the spaces to all students. We currently require at least 3 staff to monitor and help in the room, with at least 2 mental health professionals available to give counseling when needed.
Grants are distributed in an amount of $4,000 the first year, and $2,000 two years after that, to replenish and replace supplies.
We expect applications to reopen in March 2025.
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.
Don't think your school has the resources to maintain a Room? Look at Calming Corners instead.
Grant Awardees
Porter Traditional School
Bull Run Middle School
Fred Lynn Middle School
Graham Park Middle School
Hampton Middle School
Marteller Middle School
Potomac Shores Middle School
Rippon Middle School
Unity Braxton Middle School
Woodbridge Middle School
Woodbridge Sr. High School
Battlefield High School
Demonstration Video
Wellness Rooms must be a maintained space in the school. There should be at least three designated staff in the building at any given time to monitor and help students using the space, and at least two mental health professionals available to talk to students when needed. These may be some of the same people.
Our recommended procedure to use the space is:
- A student goes to Counseling to visit the Wellness Room.
- A counselor or supervising staff member takes student to the Wellness Room.
- The student signs in with student ID, how they feel on a scale from 1-10, date, and time.
- The staff member sets timer for 5 minutes and invites student to practice any coping strategy in the room.
- When the timer goes off, the staff member checks in with student. Ask what number they are on the scale of 1-10. Record number on sign out sheet and records favorite coping strategy.
- A counselor provides counseling if needed or if the supervising staff member is not a mental health professional, they ask the student if they would like to speak to a counselor or are they ready to return to class.
(98% of the time students are ready to return to class)
The Wellness Room Grant, worth a total $6,000, is dispersed in two payments: one in the year the award is granted for $4,000, and the second 2 years after establishment of the room worth $2,000 for the replenishment and replacement of items in the room.
A plan to spend the money must be submitted to us as part of the application. This may be something like:
- Large one-time purchase items (furniture, mini-trampoline, yoga mat, stationary bike, book cases, table, chairs etc.)
- Manipulatives that need to be replaced yearly (pop-its, play-doh, fidgets etc..)
- Items that may last several years (puzzles, board games, card games, breathing exercised laminated, Buddha-board, grounding exercises, laminated, jenga, breathing ball, etc...)
We just need an idea of how your school intends to fill the space. If you have questions, need clarification, or would like to discuss, please reach out to [email protected]. It may take us some time to respond, but we will.