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Board accepts $43,266 grant to create sensory/staff rooms at three middle schools
Summary
The board voted to accept a $43,266 grant from the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, presented by Renee Begay (Center for Indigenous Health, Johns Hopkins), to set up sensory and staff 'centering' rooms at three district middle schools to support student mental health and staff needs.
Renee Begay of the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins told the Central Consolidated Schools Board the district was awarded a $43,266 grant in May from the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department to establish sensory and staff rooms at three middle schools.
“We applied for the grant and we got approved in May for $43,266,” Begay said. The funds will support rooms at Kirtland Middle School, Tebodot/Thibodaux Middle School and Newcomb Middle School. Begay said the rooms are intended to be open to both staff and students for de-escalation or short-term regrouping and will be set up so students remain visible to staff (bean bags and open layouts rather than enclosed nooks) to address safety concerns for students with suicidal ideation or self-injurious behaviors.
Board members asked procedural and budget questions; Begay said principals at the three schools approved the concept and staff will order and install items before the next school year. The presenter said the project should help students who need brief, supervised spaces to calm down and may have a secondary benefit of supporting attendance and classroom engagement.
The board moved to accept the grant and approved the motion on roll call. The superintendent and staff will coordinate purchases and installation over the summer so rooms are available when school resumes.
