The Chill Room Initiative™, launched in partnership with Christina School District, Allegheny Health Network (AHN), and Nemours Children’s Health, signals a new approach to behavioral health, and it’s already transforming classrooms in schools across Pittsburgh. The idea is simple: when kids are feeling overwhelmed or struggling to regulate in class, The Chill Room™ is a place that teachers can refer students before the situation escalates, and disciplinary action becomes necessary. Kids instead spend a few minutes in The Chill Room™, staffed by trained school personnel, before returning to class calm and ready to learn. 

“This is a space solely dedicated to supporting students with coping skills, to teach students how to self-regulate, and to help students process feelings and experiences,” Dr. Burgos explained. “This is not a detention room. This is not the hangout room. This is not a reward or a consequence. Every student will require something different, but the goal is to get students back in class within 15 minutes.”

Traditionally, teachers have had very limited options when it comes to dealing with disruptions in class. They have had to rely on referring students to the principal’s office for disciplinary action, or call on school safety officers or even law enforcement for support. This approach can escalate situations unnecessarily, leading to further class disruption and loss of instructional time through student suspensions. This disciplinary cycle harms outcomes at schools, causing kids caught in the cycle to fall behind. The Chill Room™ approach, licensed from AHN, instead prioritizes de-escalation and supporting student emotional well-being. This trauma-informed approach has been proven to lead to better outcomes, with fewer infractions and better academic performance at participating schools. 

The initiative grew out of a real need to address trauma and stress in schools, where teachers are often underequipped to address the full breadth of struggles students face both inside and outside the classroom. Inspired by AHN’s groundbreaking Chill Project™, the Chill Room Initiative™ is the result of over a year of planning and development. At its core, the initiative offers students a place to access emotional support, build resilience, and develop healthy coping skills. This helps them learn to better navigate the obstacles they face, and frees up teachers to do what they do best: teach. 

“The Chill Room™ is more than just a space; it’s a vital resource for our students to manage stress, build resilience, and receive the emotional support they need to succeed,” said Dr. Laura Burgos, Executive Director of the WLC. “We are proud to collaborate with key community partners to create a supportive environment that prioritizes student well-being.”

About The Chill Project™: A Holistic Approach to Student Success

Since 2019, The Chill Project™ has been transforming school communities by offering integrated behavioral health services to support the mental well-being of students, teachers, and staff. Created by Dr. William C. Davies, Ed.D., and his team, the program provides proactive, customized support to improve youth outcomes.

Early success in Pittsburgh showed that The Chill Room™ reduces behavioral infractions, suspensions, and the need for intensive care, while boosting mental health and academic performance. This initiative is a key step in rethinking how schools address emotional support by integrating education, health, and community resources.

Key Outcomes of The Chill Project™:

• Reduction in out-of-school placements
• Increased teacher well-being
• Relief for overburdened school counselors and administrators
• Statistically significant improvement in student perceived stress after Chill Room interventions
• Improvement in student emotion regulation and distress tolerance
• Fewer students placed in costly outside care facilities

When WLC leadership learned about AHN’s Chill Project™ and its success in Pittsburgh, they knew they had to see it firsthand. Dr. Burgos recalled, “I felt that they were doing something different there that we didn’t have. I took a road trip with some leaders and council members, visiting three or four schools, and said, yep, we need this.”

To bring this vision to Wilmington schools, WLC leadership partnered with the creators of The Chill Project™, along with AHN and Nemours Children’s Health, to develop a licensed model tailored to the needs of Wilmington students. The resulting Chill Room™ initiative has now materialized in two transformed rooms at The Bayard School and Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy. Students and educators at these schools can now start to benefit from access to a safe, therapeutic space where students can learn to manage stress, process their emotions, and build healthier coping strategies.

The Chill Room™ Experience: Designed for Calm and Connection

The new Chill Rooms are designed to provide a calming and welcoming environment, featuring soothing colors, soft lighting, and comfortable furnishings that promote relaxation. A mural, commissioned specifically for each school and painted by local Wilmington artist Christian Kanienberg, adds a personal touch. Each mural reflects the school’s identity and mascot, helping students feel more connected to the space.

Each room features a variety of tools to help students manage their emotions. A key element is the “Chill-mometer,” which lets students assess their emotional state before and after spending time in the room, providing valuable insights into their mental well-being. Additional resources include mindfulness books, posters with positive affirmations, stress-relief coloring books, and other calming sensory items.

Building a Foundation for Long-Term Success

As the program continues to grow, the Chill Room Initiative™ is poised to redefine student support, ensuring that every child has access to the emotional tools they need to thrive in both their academic and personal lives. The ribbon-cutting at The Bayard School and Maurice Pritchett Sr. Academy was just the beginning.

“We’re piloting this in our two largest schools because our hypothesis is that this will bring a reduction in behavioral infractions and that this will be more than a nice-to-have,” Dr. Burgos said. “This will eventually become an essential piece of our framework for supporting students.”