Room to Breathe
Maui schools are prioritizing mental health and well-being for teachers and staff. Lahainaluna High School and Lahaina Intermediate School opened specially designed wellness rooms on their campuses last year with support from Kaiser Permanente.
These dedicated spaces offer teachers and staff members, many of whom were impacted by the wildfires, a place to relax, decompress, and recharge. Unlike faculty break rooms, which are busy facilities and sometimes utilized for other purposes, wellness rooms provide a calm space just for staff with massage chairs and yoga mats.
“The wellness room is more than a break room; it is a sanctuary. It has lounge areas with comfortable chairs and couches that were donated by a local hotel. There are games and puzzles for staff members to play,” says Nicole Heinlein, vice principal of Lahainaluna High School.
“The teachers never had a space on campus to congregate and relax together. Some would hang out in each other’s classrooms, but it wasn’t the same,” continues Heinlein. “We needed a common space to foster camaraderie and cultivate a positive campus culture among our staff, from teachers to café workers and custodians.”
Teachers and staff can access the wellness rooms any time of day. They can grab a snack or a drink, cool off in the air conditioning, stretch, or just enjoy some quiet time. The spaces fulfill a long-standing need expressed by the schools’ teachers and were brought to life through a partnership between the Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSA) and Kaiser Permanente.
“Teaching is a very challenging career and for teachers to be their best, they need to have the resources to mentally, emotionally, and physically feel good,” says Stacy Bookland, principal at Lahaina Intermediate School. “It will hopefully reduce stress, promote self-care, and reduce staff absenteeism.”
At Lahaina Intermediate, PTSA members “painted, cleaned, and organized the space; they brought in a small fridge, water dispenser, furniture, and snack boxes,” Bookland says. “Kaiser Permanente's role was critical for our PTSA to purchase the supplies needed for the staff wellness room. Without their financial contribution, we would not have been able to create the space.”
The schools are now witnessing firsthand how the spaces are uplifting their staff. “Teachers might see teachers they don’t normally encounter on campus in the wellness room and get a chance to catch up and talk story, even for a few minutes,” says Heinlein. “Walking into our wellness room always brings a smile to my face when I see teachers enjoying themselves, chatting, smiling, and having the space to enjoy their time together.”