A generous donation from a local business owner is giving students at L. Frances Smith Elementary School a reason to smile — and relax.
Shortly after Steve Smith, owner of Smith Brothers Precision Air Systems, heard about a group of teachers from Smith Elementary that was denied a grant to implement a sensory pathway, he said he felt compelled to help.
“If it’s something to help kids, I always help,” Smith said.
The path, available to kindergarten to sixth-grade students, is a movement circuit where students can walk, hop, clap and touch decals on the walls and floor while focusing on breathing techniques and muscle and spatial awareness.
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Lisa Haines, Nora Mitchell and Rob Musillami, first-grade teachers at Smith Elementary, wanted to create a space for students to step away from class and refocus. The idea for the sensory pathway was stimulated in 2017 when the teachers started noticing an increase in students with disruptive or distracted behavior.
“We have a lot of kids that come to us with lots of stories,” Haines said. “The stories those kids have — it makes it difficult for them to focus sometimes at school.”
The sensory walk, located in the first grade hallway, aims to increase that focus by giving students a break. The pathway takes about three to four minutes to complete, depending on a student’s pace.
Teachers and administrators at Smith Elementary took classes and consulted with brain research specialists to understand the importance of movement and spatial orientation before implementing the space. After determining a hallway was the best option for the pathway due to limited classroom space, Haines, Mitchell and Musillami applied for a grant to fund the project.
When the request was denied, the team reached out to local business leaders for support. That’s when Smith stepped in.
Smith reached out to a company that creates vinyl overlays for his own business vehicles and had decals created for the sensory pathway — all expenses paid. He also helped apply the decals to the walls and floor.
“He went above and beyond,” Haines said. “He just stepped up and took care of all of that for us.”
Musillami said the students are already taking advantage of the new feature, and when they finish, they have nothing but smiles on their faces.
“You can see the tension leaving their body when they go through the circuit,” he said. “It’s a way to break that tension for them.”
