Have you ever seen a space that just wasn’t put to full use? You don’t even have to have a plan for it; you just know that it isn’t being used to its full potential? Well, Park Elementary Special Education (SPED) teacher Rylee Crain saw an empty office space in her classroom and had an idea. Park Elementary had a “quiet room” for students who needed that space, but the data showed it wasn’t having the intended effect.
Table of Contents
The biggest hug
“I looked at this office turned storage room in my classroom and thought I could do something exciting,” Crain said. Crain went to her principal to share her idea for a sensory room in this space, and her principal was on board. “She really encouraged me to apply for grants and to move forward with the project.”
With grant funding, Crain was able to purchase a couch, a ball pit, soft lighting, and several other items that would have been hard to get without grant funding. All of these are tools to help children to re-regulate and work through their emotional state.
“This room allows kids to re-regulate their emotions, and work on strategies to help them self-regulate,” Crain said.
The data from kids using the quiet room showed repeated use with little to no improvement in behavior or academics, whereas data from usage of the sensory room showed progress in frequency and improved behavior and academics.
“There was a little boy that would use the sensory room early in the year, and we worked on strategies to help him self-regulate his emotions while in the sensory room,” Crain said. “Eventually, he didn’t need to use it. He came and saw me at the end of the year to thank me, and we had the biggest hug! I’ll never forget that!”
Schoolwide service
While the sensory room is located in the SPED classroom, Crain wanted to make the space available to everyone.
“I sent out a building-wide email saying that the space is open and available to every kid,” she said. “We want every child to have the tools they need to be successful, and the sensory room can and should be one of those tools!” Teachers can even use the space as a reward for their students. “I have seen so many relationships grow throughout the building because of this, and it makes it feel so worth it!”
Crain talked about improving the check-in/check-out system next year as well. “We want to add a folder system on the door so kids can identify how they are feeling and then have a list of tools they can use in the sensory room,” she said. “This lets each kid get what they need!”
Crain helped complete the project and is now moving to another school in the district for the upcoming year. “I won’t be teaching SPED next year, but I already plan to replicate this project in my new building because I’ve seen the results firsthand!”
Grants made it possible
Crain stressed that the grant funding received made this project possible. “While we had some funds, without this grant money, we would not have been able to have the completed room within the year. This gave kids the best opportunity to be successful all year long,” she said.
CFSEK’s 2025 General Funds grant cycle application is available until June 30th. More information about the General Funds cycle is available at SoutheastKansas.org/GF.
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas awarded over $2 million in grants from all foundation funds in 2024 and has facilitated over $25 million in total granting to Southeast Kansas since its founding in 2001.
CFSEK serves the region by encouraging charitable giving to address present and future needs in our area. The Columbus, Fort Scott, and Girard Area Community Foundations are affiliates of CFSEK.