DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – Bettendorf High School is leading by example in supporting the mental health of students and staff with the opening of the Quad Cities’ first Brain Health Retreat Room.
The innovative space, which will be showcased during BHS’s Open Day and Community Expo on Thursday, August 22, is designed to promote emotional wellbeing and provide students and staff with a safe place to step back, relax and get the support they need.
“There will be sensory elements. There will be a time and a task and in that space there is just a family space. There is a collaboration space and then there is also a quiet space if students or staff just need to sit alone for a bit and regroup. And if they need more support, our student services is connected to the brain health room where we can triage and give everyone what they need,” said Sarah Harris MTSS – SEBH Coordinator at Bettendorf Community School District.
The space was developed in collaboration with Brain Health Now, a grassroots organization dedicated to breaking the stigma of mental illness.
“This is just the next step for some who may need to come here and have a little conversation and then come back. The hope is that it helps everyone understand that we are all being dysregulated,” Harris said.
The space is part of a larger effort by BCSD to address mental health issues head-on.
“We have spent the last two to three years doing a deep dive into trauma, informed learning, brain health, the importance of brain health, fight, flight or freeze, all the different response strategies so that all of our staff have the tools and knowledge to support all students in their classrooms and then provide them with additional support as needed,” Harris said.
The initiative comes at the right time as the number of mental health problems among young people continues to rise.
“When you look at the whole student in education, academic success and social, emotional and mental health are inseparable,” Harris said.
Bettendorf High School’s Brain Health Retreat Room is the first of its kind in the area, but it won’t be the last. Edison Academy, the district’s alternative high school, is next in line to receive a similar space in September. Edison Academy serves students from multiple school districts and provides them with access to this supportive space.
According to Brain Health Now, one in five people have experienced a brain health problem at some point in their lives – that’s over 600,000 Iowa residents.
60% of adults and 50% of adolescents ages 8 to 15 avoid treatment or do not seek help for brain health problems.
The BHS Brain Health Retreat Room will be open to the public during the school’s Open House and Community Expo on August 22 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., offering students, staff and families the opportunity to explore the space and learn about available mental health resources.
For more information about the initiative and Brain Health Now, visit brainhealth-now.org.
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