Sensory Hall Provides Opportunity for Students Who Need a Break

Sometimes, a break is all you need. Whether it’s five or 10 minutes, taking a moment away from a stressful situation can provide a valuable moment to collect yourself and manage your emotions. That was the impetus behind creating the sensory hall at South Arbor Charter Academy.

Christina Harmon, dean of special education and intervention at the school, said recognizing that everyone needs a break from time to time is an important part of the work the leaders and teachers do at the school.

“We worked to create a space that allows for productive breaks rather than just making the mood worse,” Harmon said.



With support from Principal Fletcher Morgan, Harmon got started preparing the short section of hallway outside her office with bean bag chairs, a small tent, weighted stuffed animals, weighted balls, and more.

“We have a cabinet in the hall that houses a lot of it and some things are stuck on the areas for them to do activities like push-ups. There's a little panel for them to match different shapes and there's a bulletin board in that area where we put the zones of regulation there so that kids can identify what zone they're in. It's still a work in progress, but we've definitely seen some good benefits to it.”

Students who use the area are encouraged to set a timer for themselves, and average five to 10 minutes until they’re ready to head back to class. The space has also provided an alternative for students who look to leave the building when their daily interactions become too much for them.



“We had a couple of kids who were consistently trying to elope, so the idea was, let's give them a safe space that they can elope to, a space where they're not going to hurt themselves. Our general education students are using it, our academic behavior support specialist is down there consistently with different kits helping them work through things, it’s been very popular.”
About South Arbor Charter Academy
South Arbor Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Ypsilanti, Michigan, serving students in Young 5s through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA^®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.

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