Heart monitors are being used in a somewhat unconventional way at one south suburban high school — they're helping students cope with emotional challenges in a big way.
“A lot of our students come to us with emotional and behavioral issues, so we kind of try to address them,” explained Mike Reed, a special education teacher at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills.
For some students, heart monitors have become commonplace — thanks to an idea from a physical education supervisor.
“I said, 'Hey, you don't really know me, but how would you feel if you wanted to be involved in this?'” said Terry Shrichon, physical education supervisor for Bremen High School District 228.
Jennifer Winfka, the school's special education coordinator, was immediately on board.
“They just rolled out this new part, teaching students coping skills and how that relates to heart rate… Do you think this could be helpful in one of your behavior support programs? And I jumped right in,” she explained as she recalled the conversation.
The screens are already being used in the gym. But it's not just physical activity that raises the heart rate. Anxiety, anger and fear as well.
“When we started filling in the gaps…just emotionally and like how our emotions affect our heart rate, it was a very natural transition for them,” Reed said. “Yes, and they arrested him immediately.”
For one student, Jermaine Brown, the traffic periods were stressful.
“When there are a lot of people around me when they are fighting, or when I feel frustrated,” he explained.
Jermaine could see his heart rate rising on these daily graphs linked to the screen.
“They know what's normal, and they know when it's not,” Reid explained.
Then, the teacher can offer alternatives rather than just asking the student to relax.
“We are able to help identify these things for them and teach them coping strategies, such as walking, journaling, and listening to music,” Winfka said. “Maybe just a moment of deep breathing in class to kind of get the heart rate down.”
With this school year over, Hillcrest is already planning to use the heart rate monitors again next year and is looking for ways to expand to help more students.
“At this point… we're just thinking, well… logistically, what's the best way to integrate it?” Shrishhan said.
Jermaine has learned many coping skills, such as taking deep breaths or going for a walk. He said that these techniques will help him this summer, and hopefully outside the school walls.
“When kids can step away from the program and use a strategy on their own independently, because something outside of the school day is putting them in a stressful situation, it's a game changer,” Sharishon said.
