Riser Middle Teacher creates "comfort room" for self-contained students

Riser Middle School teacher Dawn Ponder is finishing her second year in a self-contained classroom. However, she realized almost from Day 1 that her students needed a calming room -- something that has become more of a norm in schools across America. It is a place for students to go when they are feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated.

“I have a daughter that is on the spectrum, and I do know that she deals with a lot of anxiety and gets overstimulated,” Ponder said. “I had one student particularly in mind. He did need a place to go to unwind … a quiet place where he could get some kind of sensory input to help him calm down, but we didn’t have anything like that.”

That’s when Ponder started looking into grant opportunities. She applied for one grant where only two middle school teachers were chosen, and she was not one of them. However, when one door closed, another one opened.

Brady Middleton, the Director of Business Development for Ascent Health, happened to be on the committee reviewing the grants, and Ponder’s application stuck out to him. Ascent is a non-profit that focuses on working with children and families with mental and behavioral health issues.

“This project speaks to both of those,” Middleton said. “Kids at Riser Middle School who have any kind of barriers in those lanes can utilize a space on campus to process whatever they are going through. We do a lot of school engagement activities. We have a passion for helping wherever we can, and we are really glad we could work it out.”

To make the room into a reality, Ponder first had to clean out the space in the back of her classroom and then start making a list of what she felt like her students could use most. At the top of her list was a mini trampoline with a handle and a sensory wall.

Her list kept growing, but so did the support. Ponder also submitted a grant through Donors Choose, where businesses or groups can review all the grants listed and give to what speaks to their heart. Within a week of submitting the grant, Tommy’s Car Wash in West Monroe got on board with making Ponder’s “Calming Corner” complete.

It is filled with a variety of textures on the wall, an oversized chair with sublimation sequin pillows, clouds hanging above that change colors, a chalk board, white board, magnets to express your feelings, and many other items that help students cope with what they are feeling.

“I love being able to tell them whenever they’re feeling a little overwhelmed or overstimulated that there is a place for them,” Ponder said. “We have new students coming in that are scared, and then being in a self-contained classroom, you never know. Sometimes, we have students that may get upset, and they don’t know how to communicate that, so telling them that they have some place to go, it’s great.”

Ponder started her career in elementary school in regular education, outside of the district before moving into non-profit. She worked at Early Steps, working with babies with disabilities, including autism. She said as hard as it was to leave that job, she knows she is where she is meant to be at Riser Middle.

“I love my kids,” Ponder said. “I love that they are all very unique. I love seeing them learn something new. I love interacting with them. Sometimes, you just never know what they’re going to say, and I love that. I love getting to come here every day. I love the people I work with, but the kids make it worth coming every day.”