Orange County WellSpace Project
The Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) and Rady Children’s Health (formerly Children's Health of Orange County CHOC) have teamed up with local districts to install WellSpaces on school campuses. These tranquil spaces allow students to decompress, learn mindfulness strategies, and develop self-regulation and coping skills. The spaces are designed using feedback from student focus groups, biophillic design and other research based design concepts by our in-house designer and partner Design With Purpose. In the WellSpace, students are supported by school based mental health staff who help improve their overall wellbeing and mental health. Each space is intentionally located within a school campus, allowing access to all, and provides universal support to students to strengthen and improve their social and emotional skills, thus allowing students to achieve their highest potential.
WHAT IT IS
A space designated for mental health and wellness services to improve the educational, social and emotional outcomes for all students
A space with various stress management and coping strategies tools such as yoga, mindfulness apps, mindful coloring, sand gardens, and fidget items to support student practice of emotional regulation and resiliency skills.
A space supported and supervised by a school based mental health professional or staff with fundamental knowledge of mental health.
A space designed to be a “space of calm”, with a home like feel and infused with biophilic design - an evidence based approach to wellness and stress reduction
A space where staff (at separate designated hours) can access and utilize the space to attend to self-care and wellness strategies
A space where all students can access resources and information about mental health and wellness
WHAT IT ISN'T
It isn't a place to access services such as immunizations or well exams
It isn't a place to provide reproductive health services
It isn't a place to replace patient-physician/provider relationships and ongoing medical care
It isn't a place where services are provided without parent consent where required
If you are interested in creating a wellness space for students at your school site/district, please fill out this brief Google Form. On the form, indicate the level of support you are interested in. After you submit the form, you will be contacted by someone on our WellSpace initiative team. *Please note: submitting an interest form does not guarantee approval for a WellSpace on behalf of OCDE and Rady Children's Health.
For more information about the WellSpace initiative, please contact Karen Leal, kleal@ocde.us