Student Melanie Garcia, left, interacts with Wellness Center staffers Daisy Urisar, center, and Anglelique Guzman, right, at Monroe Middle School on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. Sophia, an eighth grader at Monroe Middle School in San Jose, was trying to get through her first class, but her anxiety was making it impossible to calm down. She couldn’t focus on the lesson and worried she would get so upset that she’d cause a scene.
“With the separation and schools closed, we had already seen alarming upticks in social anxiety, anxiety writ large, early indications of depression and higher rates of suicide,” said Mary Ann Dewan, the superintendent of schools for Santa Clara County. “We saw an even greater opportunity to ensure that the school was centered as a place of wellness.”
Teachers also benefit from these spaces. Now when a kid needs a moment to reset, they can be sent to a safe, supervised space instead of having to stick it out in class or get in trouble for potentially disrupting a class. A student stacks blocks in the Wellness Center at Monroe Middle School on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2024, in San Jose, Calif.
The online resource utilizes AI to comb through student responses and flag any alarming text, such as suicidal ideation or self-harm tendencies, to teachers and school counselors. If a child has consistently low responses, it also triggers a response from a school administrator.