EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Rusty's Room, a safe space for students to put self-regulation skills into use, is in its second year at Hutchinson High School.
"Last year is what I would call a real trial run," Hutchinson USD 308 social worker Jan Young said.
Rusty's Room is set up in the same classroom that former Hutch High math teacher and golf coach Rusty Hilst, taught in for 53 of his 54 years of teaching. The self-regulation room's goal is for students to learn how to cope with any anxiety or outside factors that may be affect a students ability to to focus on classroom learning. Young said the room is not a free pass to skip school.
"But If you are at school, we have intentional spaces to do that with," Young said. " We teach mindfulness. They can self teach themselves basically on the clear touch. We have just quiet spaces. You can color. You can, do anything in here. You can make yourself a cup of coffee. You know whatever you might need to get back to a place where you can go back to class and keep going for the d
Young and Tanya Martin Nisly is also a social worker for district said the excuse to avoid class has not been a factor in usage of the room as much as teachers anticipated it would be.
"Students have so many different ways to avoid class," Martin Nisly said. "They go to the bathroom. They go to the sweet treat. So if they are coming here, we know they are accounted for and we can maybe help them problem solve a little bit. Kind of like, I notice you come every day during fourth hour. What's going on during fourth hour and you know like how can you cope with it a little better. So I think because we've worked in schools long enough, we're pretty good at identifying when its avoidance for the sake of avoidance."
Martin Nisly said an important factor that will help keep Rusty's Room staffed full time is the employment of an education aide for the room. Martin Nisly said the district is currently in search of an educational aide. In the last year, the room has had two different aides.
"It dramatically changes how the room can be used," Martin Nisly said. "Open full time and teachers know you can send someone anytime, then that's what we really want."
A student can only enter the room upon teacher or administrator approval and time in the room must be supervised.
Young said she and Martin Nisly do their best to make sure their schedules are set up to supervise the room full-time but it can be difficult.
"We have offices in the counseling center and we have caseloads of students that are on our caseloads that require to see so it's not like we can do it full-time," Young said.
Martin Nisly said teachers have volunteered to oversee Rusty's Room. An English teacher at the high school oversaw the room while grading assignments over a three hour time span for three out of five days during the school week.
Young said there isn't any specific data on students who have used Rusty's Room, but there does seem to be a trend.
"The ones that have found it helpful, are repeat customers a lot," Young said. "And then we get some new, oh yeah I didn't know, and then they figure it out and then they become kind of a regular. And a regular just means maybe a pop in sometimes. Or we get to know them and we know a little bit more about what they might need as far as time and what they might need to be helpful."
Additional guidelines for students to follow when they access the room include a pass from a teacher, counselor or principal, all students must sign in and out of the room, students who are in ISS (in school suspension) may not use the room unless granted permission, confidentiality needs to be maintained and staff may not be in Rusty's Room while staff are clocked in.
Rusty's Room is located in C Hall at Hutchinson High School. Two stduent groups led by Young and and Martin Nisly also take place in the Rusty's Room. Those who are interested in applying for the educational aide position can do so on Hutchinson USD 308's website.
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