District 131 Resilience Education Center Celebrates Grand Opening

Press release from East Aurora School District 131:

AURORA, IL — On March 20, 2024, East Aurora School District 131 celebrated the completion of the Resilience Education Center (R.E.C.), a state-of the art learning facility to promote student and family well-being through mental health services, social wellness and college and career readiness through industry-level course offerings. Many community members gathered for the Ribbon Cutting and were able to tour the new center.

Located at 417 Fifth Street, Aurora, IL., the Resilience Education Center project has been underway since 2022, with Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Norrell and the Board of Education leading the charge.

“We celebrate the resilience of our students and families following the global pandemic. This center is a concerted effort to extend their capacity to be resilient and ensure that our students are equipped with the strategies and skills to build a strong future being both socially well and academically prepared for greatness,” shared EASD 131 Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Norrell. “My vision was to create a space for our students focused on embedded wellness while each of our schools continues to foster academic acceleration. This space was born out of conversations with middle and high school students answering the ultimate question, what activities would make you put down your cell phone? Students gave very specific answers and that is what we built.”

High School Juniors and Seniors will have the opportunity to participate in advanced industry-level electives in art, music, broadcast journalism, dance, yoga, gaming, coding and culinary arts daily at the R.E.C. After school, 7th through 10th graders will have the opportunity to attend the R.E.C. for activities hosted by staff and other community partners. “Private individual and group counseling will also be available for students who are referred to such services, situating the space as one which nurture both the social and emotional development of students–a true safe space,” added Dr. Norrell.

At the R.E.C. you’ll find:

• Private Group and Individual Counseling Rooms
• 2-D & 3-D Art Rooms
• Music Production Studio
• E-Sports Center
• Dance and Yoga Studio
• Broadcast Television News Recording Studio (students will be able to produce broadcast newscasts live from here with industry-level camera equipment, an anchor desk, and more)
• Podcast Studio
• Culinary Arts Kitchen
• Café/Coffee Bar and more!

“There will be parent workshops and programs for families with children of all ages during the weekend. This will give us the opportunity to increase parent engagement and at the same time unite families in the educational journey,” said Mariza Martinez, Assistant Director, Resilience Education Center. “We’re grateful that our students and their families will be able to experience something so unique and inspirational in our very own East Aurora community!”

This press release was produced by East Aurora School District 131. The views expressed here are the author’s own.