The team aimed to address unproductive strategies used with struggling students by creating sensory and resource rooms in Rock County middle schools. The goal was to furnish warm, safe spaces for students and staff to take breaks. They reconstructed and furnished a room at Milton Middle School with donated paint, furniture, and games. Progress at Edison and McNeel was halted by COVID-19, but the team intends to help complete those sites when possible.

1. Team: Still Loading RC
Refocus/Reflection Rooms for Rock County Middle Schools

2. Team Still Loading RC (Rock County)
Amanda Everly Nick Jones Emmett Nienhaus
School District of Janesville Novares
Corey Passer
City of Janesville
Ashley Vargas
Rock County
Baker Tilly

3. Mission statement
“To address and eliminate
unproductive strategies when working
with struggling students by creating
warm and welcoming areas that all
students can use as a safe place to
feel comfortable; focusing on
restoration to aide in returning
students to their regular learning
environments.”

4. What: Sensory and Resource Room
Revitalization in Rock County Schools
The Problem: Schools do not have the
proper resources to help students cope
with physical, mental, and emotional
stressors.
The Goal: Create warm, safe, and
welcoming rooms inside of schools for
students and faculty to utilize to take a
break and regroup.
The Action:
★ Reconstruction
★ Repurposing
★ Furnishing
The Schools:
★ Milton
★ Edison
★ McNeel

5. ● Schools in the United States continue to
use antiquated methods when working
with struggling students.
● There is an overuse of exclusionary
practices that contribute to the “school
to prison pipeline.”
● 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collections
(CRDC) documented that while black
students represent 16% of students
enrollment, these students accounted
for 40 percents of suspensions.
● In the same study, students with
disabilities account for 12% of total
enrollment and made up 11.5% of
suspensions
Why Now?

6. Fundraising/Donations
Donors:
❏ Paint
❏ Headphones
❏ 725 worth of
product
❏ paintings
and
artwork
❏ 25 dollar
meat
voucher
Donations:
❏ 4 chairs

7. ● We worked hand-in-hand with the three middle schools
● We identified rooms/areas in each school that could be used for such purpose
● Our goal was to provide a comfortable, clean and friendly environment
● The rooms needed some TLC and you will see in later photos many had peeling paint, old furniture and
were overall an un-inviting atmosphere reminiscent of a jail cell.
● Through in-kind and monetary donations we were able to completely transform the room at the Milton
Middle School. Walls were given new life with inviting paint, new furniture was provided as well as a
generous donation of games/activities from PlayMonster.
● Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we have been temporarily stalled in our mission to
complete our work at the other two schools.
Progress

8. Before
Edison Milton McNeel

9. In Progress...

10. Milton Finished
(other sites still loading…)

11. Next Steps
- We intend on staying in contact with the remaining two middle
schools so that when they are ready we will be able to help them in
some capacity
- We hope that there was a template provided to the different school
districts that if they can receive funding that rooms like this can be
implemented across the county

12. Challenges and Lessons Learned

13. Closing
- While our full project was not completed as initially intended we
hope that an impact will still be made with what we did accomplish
- We want to thank our everybody who made donations in time,
money or goods.
- Lastly, we would like to thank LDA giving us the opportunity and
tools to grow both individually and as a group

14. Questions?