Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wellness Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sweetwater County School District #2 discusses renaming classroom 'Zen Den' amid separation concerns
Summary
Board and staff reviewed the district strategic plan and debated whether the 'Zen Den' name for a student regulation space raises church-state concerns; superintendent proposed researching alternate, secular names and reporting to the board in October.
Superintendent Scott Cooper opened the work session by walking the board through Sweetwater County School District #2's updated strategic plan and its three guiding goals: wellness and safety, student achievement, and communication and collaboration.
During discussion of the wellness-and-safety strategies, a board member questioned whether the program label 'Zen Den' could be perceived as a religious or philosophical endorsement and therefore raise separation-of-church-and-state concerns. District staff and an elementary-school presenter explained the function: a rotating class or room where students learn emotional regulation, social skills and how to identify and respond to feelings.
Superintendent Cooper said the program's intent is secular—focused on behavioral regulation and student wellbeing—and offered to research alternative, nonreligious names for the space. She proposed presenting several name options at the district's October board meeting and replacing the term across materials if the board agrees.
The board did not vote on the name; the superintendent framed the next step as a research-and-report action and invited staff to return with suggested terminology at the next regular board meeting.
The discussion was limited to the label of the practice rather than its content. Several trustees praised the underlying work to provide students a dedicated space for social-emotional learning and indicated support for keeping the program while changing language if necessary.
