Latest Measure J project will see fourth wellness center coming to local elementary school

Cahuilla Elementary School will become the latest Palm Springs Unified School District campus to open a new wellness center for students, Ellen Goodman, executive director of The Foundation For PSUSD, told the Measure J Commission at its most recent meeting.

The new wellness center should be up and running by the end of this school year, and will mark the fourth and final elementary school wellness center funded by Measure J. 

The wellness centers are places “where students can go and for a lack of a better word, decompress, possibly reregulate their emotions,” Goodman told the commission on Dec. 18. Students aren’t required to provide an explanation or reason why they need to visit the wellness center, and can access the centers at any time during school hours. 

Before and after pictures presented by Goodman showed a typical PSUSD classroom before being transformed into a wellness center: bright fluorescent lighting, very little natural light, and mostly sterile grey furniture. The ‘after’ photo showed a cozier room with soft lighting, plants, and couches — the goal is to create a space that feels more like a living room, said Goodman. 

While Measure J has funded wellness centers in four elementary schools, overall the foundation’s wellness centers are in 16 schools, with plans to eventually expand to all campuses. 

The wellness centers include activities for students, fidget toys, and other resources such as counselors or connections to telehealth. The district also received a grant from the state to staff the wellness centers with wellness coaches, making it among the first districts in the state with designated wellness coaches, according to Goodman. 

The number of students utilizing the wellness centers vary by campus, but typically averages between 30 to 50 students a day, with students usually spending between seven and 15 minutes in the center per visit. 

“The biggest concern on the school campus is that the kids will abuse it. They’re going to want to hang out with the counselors and the specialists. They’re going to want to get out of school,” said Goodman. 

“And kids want to get out of school. I wanted to get out of school. And that’s an opportunity for the counselor and the specialist or the coach to actually sit with the student and find out what’s going on, and then there’s an opportunity for an intervention or a triage.”

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