HAILEY, Idaho — Paying attention in school can be hard for some students. To help that, Mountain West Bank partnered with a Silver Creek High School created a sensory room.
“The first time I stepped in there I was just like wow; this place is amazing. It's an awesome zone just to kind of go sit down relax," Silver Creek Alum Gustavo Romero said.
The bank and alternative high school’s goal is to provide a safe space for breaks which Romero says could lead to better grades.
“Silver creek is an alternative high school and so classes and learning look different. They look at the world through a different perspective and I love it because they don't see different as bad. They see different as good," Mountain West Bank Director of Communications and Relations, Bekah Johnson, said.
The sensory room gives students a break with a safe room full of special lighting, music, and objects.
Health studies show sensory rooms provide stimulation, enhances learning through play, de stresses and improves focus among other things.
"Many times when we look for opportunities in our schools. Teachers and admins are looking for ways to regulate. As kids get older that need doesn't' change. We try to install tools in areas where kids can decompress,” Johnson said.
High school can be stressful, and Romero says the sensory room might be their only chance of a break from schoolwork and home issues.
"It gets in the way of you learning sometimes. Having a place like this gives you an environment to calm down, reorganize yourself, and get back on track,” Romero said.
Aside from providing mental breaks, Romero says he hopes this room inspires students.
"My goal is for students to be in a happier place so they can get on track and graduate. There are a lot of kids dropping out nowadays and so giving them something like this is another meaningful place to be happy and looking forward to going to school every single day,” Romero said.
The room was installed this Summer just in time for the start of the school year. Romero says students have already started feeling the benefits of having this resource.
"It's a type of school that people don't really see as a regular school. So this type of project gives it a little bit more meaning, that the community does actually care about them,” Romero said.