News

Lawrence mom pulls daughter out of school due to concerns over 'relaxation room'

LAWRENCE, Mass. — A Lawrence mother has brought to light concerns regarding a room at the Community Day Arlington Elementary School meant to help students de-stress.

The room, called the "sensory depravation room" is where the school sends children who are being disruptive in the classroom for a "time-out".

However, the room in question is a deprecated, empty room, safe for a single broken chair that sits in the middle of the room, on top of a plain dark blue rug on the concrete floor.

Ashley Martinez pulled her seven-year-old daughter Juliana from the school after she learned the girl was forced to spend time inside this unkempt room with broken chairs and concrete walls.

"She gets sensory overloads and she's very hyper, she has ADHD so she needs to de-stress and to release some energy," said Martinez about her daughter.

Juliana is in the first grade at the elementary school in Lawrence. Martinez says that when Juliana acts out, she normally is sent to the school's comfort room, which she says is a welcoming setting that allows students to work on classroom activities.

The sensory depravation room, also known as the relaxation room, however, is the polar opposite of the comfort room.

"There's no carpeting, there's no padding on the floor, God forbid there's a child banging their head on the floor. There's a broken chair where a child can cut themselves, and it's definitely unsanitary," said Martinez. "It's worse than a jail cell - even inmates at least get a toilet and a clean room."

Martinez says her daughter now has nightmares after sitting in this room alone on several occasions for up to an hour at a time.

"So we expressed to the school please don't send her down there no more and we thought the relaxation room was done," said Martinez.

After Martinez learned her daughter was just placed in the relaxation room this past Friday, she contacted a school committee member over the weekend which hours later prompted an investigation.

"There's an opportunity there for the room to be more welcoming," said Lawrence School Committee member Pavel Payano.

In a statement, the school department disputes some of the information shared on social media, saying at least one staff member is in the room with a child for no more than 30 minutes at a time.

A representative for the Lawrence Public Schools sent Boston 25 News a statement which said:

"LPS responded immediately to the concerns expressed as soon we became aware of them, including communicating with the parent over the weekend. We will continue to work directly with any families to answer questions or concerns they may have, recognizing not all information currently available online and elsewhere is accurate. District, school and state policy prioritize removing a student from the classroom only if absolutely necessary and for the shortest possible amount of time. Consistent with that, this room – located directly off a large art room -- is utilized as a time-out space only under the following guidelines:

• When a student is posing a safety threat to themselves or others, and if other potential spaces are not available or appropriate while the student needs time to calm
• One or two staff accompany the student in the room at all times and always with the door open
• All student visits are less than 30 minutes and parents are notified
• Furnishing may be altered based on individual circumstances, but is typically minimal to prevent opportunity for student or staff injury (a desk, for instance, is available when appropriate; we currently do not believe the damaged chair seen in the photo online, however, was ever used in the room with a student)

The district and school continue to evaluate the use of the room and our assessment of what if any improvements could be appropriate."

"At the end of the day, they want to ensure that our kids are working in a safe environment," said Payano.