Thanks to a community initiative, students at one local high school now have a sanctuary where they can push the reset button when stress begins to mount.

Together with volunteers from Preston Hollow Church, Rowlett High School has built a special “reset room” aiming to give students a place to go that’s far removed from the traditional campus environment.

The initiative launched by Carmen Chadwick, an intervention facilitator at the Garland Independent School District campus, is the first of its kind and responds to what she says is a gap in student support offerings.

“We needed a space that would invite them to come into and kind of let their guard down, and we just didn’t really have that,” Chadwick said, according to Fox 4 KDFW.

Furnished entirely by Preston Hollow Church, the room has a living space, desk area, and patio with lounge chairs.

“Through having a number of educators in our church but also through all of our lives, we know how much they need support, and giving them a room for students to come into that makes it feel like home is, like, huge,” said Chris Walerczyk of Preston Hollow Church in the video, according to CBS News Texas.

COVID-era lockdowns and online learning left some school-aged children not only lacking social skills but also coping mechanisms for managing their own emotions.

One survey found that this has led to rising levels of classroom misbehavior, as covered by The Dallas Express. Some of the common student problems cited by teachers included frequent outbursts, low motivation, fidgeting, and nonstop chatter.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy even issued several advisories on children’s mental health, calling for more public awareness and efforts to improve mental health services, especially given their sometimes excessive use of social media.

Rowlett High School’s building of the reset room to respond to students’ mental health needs is one of many initiatives relying on volunteer services. Made possible through state legislation passed this year, some districts, such as Keller ISD, have opted for volunteer chaplain support or counseling services.

Dallas ISD chose not to enlist these services but has instead doubled its student psychiatric services through a new five-year contract of $7.5 million approved by the school board in late December, as reported in The Dallas Express. The move raised a few eyebrows given that the district has faced criticism over alleged mismanagement of its financial resources in the past.

Districts across the state have seen mounting issues ranging from scandals over allegations of employee misconduct to guns being fired on campuses, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.

Meanwhile, only 41% of Dallas ISD students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams in 2021-2022.