Brain Health Retreat Room

The BHRR is a safe space to prioritize Brain Health needs for students. Students will be supported in building specific skills and coping strategies to get them regulated and back to class. This room isn’t for students to avoid classes. It is meant for quick breaks to reset and regulate feelings and emotions.

While in the BHRR, students work on strategies to assist in social-emotional regulation, such as breathing techniques, grounding techniques, problem-solving skills or meditation. It may also serve simply as a quiet space to gather thoughts.

Research has revealed access to brain health resources as one of Dubuque’s most critical challenges, and national studies amplify the need to address children’s brain health, specifically. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80% of U.S. students report feeling stressed sometimes or often, while 34% say they experience depression. Furthermore, a recent article in Edweek states that 35% of 14- to 18-year-olds experience a brain health crisis each year.

If in-class intervention isn’t working or a student isn’t able to regulate themselves in the classroom, there are three ways a student can be referred to the BHRR.

1. A teacher can refer
2. A student can self-refer
3. A school counselor can refer

In all of the above-listed situations, the students will take a green lanyard from the class they are in or to which they are going, which will communicate that they will go to the BHRR. They will scan their ID when they arrive in the BHRR and before they leave.

Students can access the BHRR during school hours.

1. Start with in-class strategies
2. Students can be referred one of three ways:
   1. A teacher or staff can refer
   2. A student can self-refer
   3. A school counselor can refer
3. When feeling regulated, the student returns to class with a pass.
4. A student may also be referred to the School Counseling Office