Six Months In: The Chill Room™ Initiative Continues to Transform Wilmington Classrooms
Since its official launch in March, the Wilmington Learning Collaborative’s (WLC) Chill Room™ Initiative has been quietly changing the way students and educators approach behavioral health at The Bayard School and Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy.
The rooms, designed as safe, calming spaces where students can learn to manage stress and regulate emotions, have already become a trusted resource for both students and teachers.
In partnership with Christina School District, Allegheny Health Network (AHN), and Nemours Children’s Health, the WLC is the first licensee for this new approach to behavioral health, which is already transforming classrooms in schools across Pittsburgh.
“We piloted The Chill Room™, which is a mindfulness room supported by evidence-based practice to improve student behavioral health and staff behavioral health,” said WLC Executive Director, Dr. Laura Burgos.
At a recent WLC council meeting, she explained that the spaces are a place for preventative support, where students are greeted by a trained school-based health educator with resources and exercises to talk through what’s on their mind. They may also learn new coping mechanisms and work through de-escalation strategies before returning to the classroom.
Welcoming Students and Staff to a Calmer Space: The Chill Room™’s Initial Impact:
Opened to the school community on April 7, 2025, the Chill Rooms have hosted 256 student visits across the two schools.
According to Shakiyla Smith, Behavioral Health School Educator from Nemours Children’s Health, students have primarily used the space to navigate peer conflicts and teacher conflicts, finding value in having a dedicated environment to pause, process, and reset.
“When students and staff step inside, they immediately feel the calm shift that contrasts with the usual hustle and bustle of the school day,” Smith said. “Teachers have shared that their students appreciate having the Chill Room™ as a trusted space to manage emotions.”
The rooms feature soothing colors, soft lighting, comfortable furnishings, posters with positive affirmations, stress-relief coloring books, and other calming sensory items. Another key element is the “Chill-mometer,” which helps students assess their emotional state before and after spending time in the room.
Only a few months in, data points from both schools demonstrate the quick and meaningful impact the Chill Rooms are having. On average, students are able to reduce stress and emotional intensity in under 15 minutes, allowing them to return to class ready to learn.
The Chill Room™ Initiative™ is proof that sometimes the most powerful changes in education come not from big interventions, but from giving students and teachers the space they need to thrive.
The Bayard School:
- 127 student encounters, including 101 drop-ins serving 72 unique students
- 40 teacher encounters
- Average Chill-mometer score upon entering: 4.14, leaving: 2.1
- Average time spent: 13 minutes
- 41 lessons facilitated
Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy:
- 33 student encounters, including 32 drop-ins serving 25 unique students
- 39 teacher encounters
- Average Chill-mometer score upon entering: 3.9, leaving: 2.3
- Average time spent: 14 minutes
- 60 lessons facilitated
A Resource for the Whole School Community
The Chill Room™ Initiative also offers teachers the space as a supportive tool. By providing a structured, trauma-informed approach to behavioral health, the Chill Rooms allow educators to focus on teaching while students gain essential coping skills.
“I take great pride in providing this welcoming environment, a space designed for everyone in our community to reset, recharge, and refocus so they can return to their day ready to succeed,” Smith said.
School-based health educators also lead professional learning for school staff, Dr. Burgos shared.
“Our school-based educators are really working hard to build community and make sure this is a resource share that spans beyond the Chill Room™,” she said. “The goal is not to simply have this chill room where these evidence-based practices live, but to actually make sure that these strategies are circulating throughout the building and that our teaching and learning staff are well-equipped to replicate some of the exercises and learning models.”
Building on Early Success for Long-Term Benefit
With its success in these two pilot schools, the WLC is optimistic about the long-term benefits of the Chill Room™ Initiative. The program has proven that a small, dedicated space for emotional support can yield measurable improvements in student behavior, stress management, and overall school climate.
Based on early response, Dr. Burgos said she anticipates seeing how the initiative will translate into positive long-term outcomes, including improving student attendance, decreasing behavioral infractions, and fostering a stronger sense of belonging at school.
As the WLC continues to monitor outcomes, the hope is to adapt and expand this model across additional schools, ensuring that every student has access to tools that support emotional well-being and academic success.
