Sometimes innovation in the classroom looks like a dedicated corner of a classroom where breakthroughs happen every single day. 
Meet the students of Mrs. Toribio’s Mixed Abilities class at Amelia Earhart Elementary. For these incredible learners, staying regulated, focused, and ready to learn can sometimes feel like a steep uphill climb. “When students are dysregulated they are unable to engage in learning thus losing precious academic time,” shares Mrs. Toribio. “Many students in the Mixed Abilities program can spend a lot of their day in a dysregulated state due to delays in social/emotional learning.”
To help combat this and increase learning time in her classroom, Mrs. Toribio, with the help of a Goddard Education Foundation (GEF) Innovative Teacher Grant, was able to build a brand new Sensory Station directly into her students’ daily learning rotations. Instead of leaving the classroom to regulate, students now have a proactive, independent space right in the classroom to decompress, stimulate fine and gross motor skills, and reset their bodies. 
“Utilizing the Sensory Station, which includes different physical manipulatives like stepping stones, balance boards, textured floor mats and tunnels, provides that crucial regulation,” shared Mrs. Toribio. “By providing students with tools that help them to regulate their physical and emotional needs we are able to increase the time our students are in a ready-to-learn state.”
By providing the sensory station, Mrs. Toribio isn’t just teaching academics, she is teaching lifelong regulation skills for independence and success.
Thank you Mrs. Toribio for your dedication and creative teaching, and to the GEF for funding an Innovative Teacher grant that helps ensure every student has the tools, space, and support to thrive.