Jackson, MO: District installs sensory rooms in all eight school campuses
- 16 hours ago
- 1 min read
JACKSON, Mo. (Heartland News) - As the new school year approaches, the Jackson School District is sharpening its focus on inclusivity to help all students succeed.
Ahead of the first day of classes, the district has finished installing new sensory rooms across all eight of its campus buildings. The initiative was made possible through a grant from the Cape Girardeau County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
From soft lighting and quiet corners at the middle school level to tactile sensory tools at the elementary schools, these sensory rooms are designed to serve as safe havens for students who feel overwhelmed during the school day.
Jackson Special Education Director Meredith Adkison noted that out of the district’s 5,800 students, about 900 have special needs, but emphasized that these therapeutic spaces can benefit students of all abilities.
“Sometimes they need to regulate their emotions because they aren’t able to speak to us the way every other student might be able to speak to us, and so they regulate their emotions through some of the activities that they get to do in these sensory spaces,”
Adkison explained. “Other students can communicate effectively and wonderfully with us, but sometimes they need that space to pull back and have some time to themselves.”
Adkison added that these rooms will be open and available to students throughout the school day whenever they need them to re-center. Jackson students are scheduled to head back to class on August 24.
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