DMS opens Mental Health Sanctuary on campus for teachers | Community

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DMS opens Mental Health Sanctuary on campus for teachers | Community

To alleviate stress and to strengthen mental health, Duncan Middle School staff debuted a decompression room at the campus this week.

DMS teachers and district administration hosted a grand opening Sept. 30 for the new Mental Health Sanctuary designed for teachers, faculty and staff.

DMS Teachers Derrick Miller, Sonia Norton and Cathy Barker spearheaded the organization process to bring this room to the middle school.

Miller said they worked on this project for past four years and this year, the room came into fruition.

“The room is specifically designed to help teachers and staff address burnout by giving them a place to decompress, especially on those extremely stressful days,” he said.

Miller said he hopes this will help teachers combat burnout and find what they love about the classroom by having a place to decompress at the school.

With many overwhelming days, Miller said there’s always moments where a teacher struggles to get through the day and they want to do everything they can to continue to build teachers mental health.

For the students, Miller said they have a Licensed Professional Counselor on staff, fidget kits and more.

“We just needed something for teachers,” he said.

Miller said they’ve worked to set up the room over the last month.

With around 20 district and school officials gathering at the DMS classroom Monday morning, Norton said they had a vision to create a way to help teachers control stress.

The room will provide a place for teachers to come before or after school or during planning periods for a sanctuary. She said they named the room, “The Sanctuary”, so they would have a place to come in and take a break.

“We want to protect our teachers, give them something to help them get through the day,” she said.

With a plethora of donations for the classroom, Norton said a massage chair is a gift from the National Junior Honor Society at the middle school.

While some have already tried it out, Norton said it will bring a relaxing way to help teachers get ready for the day or to enjoy down time.

With plans to have bottled water and protein snacks available, Norton said they can come to the room and find a place to sit and relax.

The room is equipped with low lighting with lamps. Norton said the room is calm and inviting. It features a recliner, a couch, games, books and puzzles, and of course, the massage chair.

“It’s just going to be a downtime room for our teachers for their mental health,” she said. “We just wanted them to have a safe place to go to, just like we provide for the students,” she said.

Norton said she’s most excited to get to provide something just for teachers to come sit and relax. She said there’s a desk in the room if a teacher needs to come in and grade papers in a quiet place.

“It’s not a lounge area where we have copy machines going,” she said. “It’s just a quiet place, a sanctuary for them to come and get some of that soul searching, calmness so they can start their day or they can finish their day.”

Norton said they want the teachers to know they care about their mental health. She said she attended a trauma workshop training with Barker four years ago. She said they talked about how in order to get the trauma taken care of for students, they need to get the adults care.

“It’s just a place for all of us to come and just take five, take 10, take your whole planning time if you need it and just relax,” she said. “Get your mental health and boost it back up.”

She said they hope it will help people through the days, weeks, months and years to come.

During the grand opening, the Oklahoma Educators Credit Union provided snacks and materials.

Norton said OECU were helpful during this process.

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