I was recently touring an individual through one of our school programs and was explaining the varied aspects of education, therapy, regulation techniques, and a number of activities that are characteristic of our campuses. I reflect on all the images that we encountered just on a brief tour – all the unique images that are so very special in the relationships that we establish with students.
We walked through one of our classroom facilities and in each classroom there were students working on the classwork, but also there was a regulation area where students could stay in class but be able to access pulse oximeters and varied fidgets and techniques to help them to cope and regulate.
We visited a sensory room where students could visit and use several regulation strategies that were calming to their brains. A staff member was in the room demonstrating what interventions would be most helpful for each student to use for brain and emotional regulation.
We walked through our cafeteria where there was food and custom designed therapeutic music to provide an atmosphere that would be pleasant while pulsing the room with rhythms that mimicked a typical maternal heart rate in utero. Once again it is purposed to provide a calming sensation to unpredictable emotions.
We journeyed through our resolve room where students can go when they are struggling with life circumstances, extreme emotions, behavioral issues, severe anxiety or other significant issues that need guidance and regulation activities. There is a supervisor in the room who can guide them in their process until they are ready to go back to their school activities.
Outside there was a walking track that sits by our lake where a student can use specific activities such as swinging, music, balance, climbing, exercise and reflection to literally travel from the bottom of the brain to the cognitive area. These are brain-based regulation activities that can work on various areas of the brain that need specific interventions to help bring a sense of control and calm.
On the campus are also facility dogs who are available to students who relate well to the dog as a stress relief companion. Sometimes the dogs are more effective at bringing regulation to students than their staff. It is a companionship that some students relate to strongly to bring help and hope to a difficult day.
We walked across the lake to our greenhouse where students were growing plants, creating displays, putting together special holiday products for sale and learning how to run the business of a greenhouse. They also were working throughout the campus to build gardens and plant all types of plants to enhance the beauty of our campus.
Then there are swings, offices and walking areas where staff and students can process some of their personal issues, which builds trust and therapeutic perspectives on varied aspects of their lives. The normal activities of teaching common school subjects and electives are also achieved in small classrooms with lots of interaction so that students will have the attention they need to make academic progress and become successful in their educational goals.
As I reflect on such a tour, it was clear how deliberate we have been to be a very unique and intentional environment to support our students holistically. Our systems of care, interventions, relationships and programmatic features are all aligned with the needs of our students neurologically, academically, therapeutically and relationally. This allows Lakeside School to be effective at meeting the needs of our students, providing hope and creating a place of healing from the issues they face in their lives.
Gerry Vassar
President/CEO
