The Triple R Mindset

This post was written by Diana Bernal,  Program Coordinator for the Creating Healthy Schools & Communities program at Bronx Health REACH. 

As part of the New York State Department of Health’s Creating Healthy Schools & Communities program, Bronx Health REACH is working with Equity Design, a longtime Bronx Health REACH partner whose goal is to design sustainable programs and services that translate to the specific social, cultural and physical health disparities, and schools in the Bronx to help improve school wellness. One way used to help schools is by providing their school wellness councils with technical assistance and help them implement local wellness policies. 

Bronx Health REACH, Equity Design and IS 584’s school wellness council went through team building and mind mapping sessions to identify areas of improvement for their students, teachers, and community. One area that the school wanted to prioritize was the teacher well-being. Given that teachers play many roles and are the backbone of a school, the need to support their wellness is paramount. “Nationally, there are reports of increased teacher burnout and subsequent turnover in recent years.”

For this reason, IS 584’s school wellness council came up with a Triple R Policy for their school: Relax, Recharge, and Renew. The school’s leadership considers implementing this policy as necessary for teacher relaxation and mental health with the aim to foster a supportive environment for staff, and improve teacher retention and morale. An outcome of this teacher focus was the creation of the Triple R Mindset Teacher Lounge, a room that school leadership designated as a teachers only space for them to unwind and recharge before, during, and after school.

  

                                                       

Based on this policy and vision, Equity Design connected IS 584 with Metropolitan Bank  who offered to provide the school funding to revamp their teachers’ lounge. This allowed for an inviting teachers’ lounge that included comfortable seating, a walking pad, stationary bicycles for physical activity, a refrigerator, water/coffee station, and an inviting décor, all to create a positive and peaceful space. The Triple R Mindset Teacher Lounge will help teachers experience time for reflection, team-building, engagement in physical activity, wellness and emotional stability while in a workplace setting. This is a great example of what can happen through a school wellness council and community partnerships working together to create healthier environments!