GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Padded mats are being utilized in classrooms across West Michigan as part of a cutting-edge approach to crisis de-escalation.
Lauren Raap, an emotional impairment teacher at Comstock Park Public Schools, explained that her students "have extremely big feelings," which can manifest as physical aggression through actions like hitting, throwing objects, or screaming.
Raap's role involves helping students balance their emotions, but previous methods often led to increased trauma for both teachers and students.
“A lot of times it was asking the teacher to use their body to block. So that way, we still were restraining them or using seclusion, but you were using your arm to block the hit" said Raap.
To address these challenges, teachers are now learning a new hands-off approach called Ukeru, a Japanese term meaning "to receive."
“When you are in sort of a back and forth with someone, sometimes you actually are your strongest when you receive their energy and just go with it versus fight against it,” explained Kim Sanders, President and Co-Founder of Ukeru.
Roughly one year ago, Kent County Intermediate School District adopted the training district-wide.
“We wanted to bring something in that prioritized relationships with staff and students that would decrease injury for staff and students, and that was focused predominantly on a hands-free or restraint-free approach," explained Kirsten Myers, Assistant Superintendent for Kent ISD.
The Ukeru method begins with a padded shield between the teacher and student, allowing for non-physical, verbal de-escalation techniques.
The trauma-informed practice is designed to divert aggressive behavior, aimed at building an environment focused on comfort rather than control.
The results from Kent County ISD's implementation of Ukeru are promising.
“We have seen a reduction in injury, we have seen a more enhanced positive climate culture because people feel safe in the moment of crisis or in the moment of an escalated behavior," asserted Myers.
Raap reiterated the measurable difference she has seen by applying the new training, “I have been using Ukeru for about a year now, and since doing that, I would say that we have had less than 10 seclusion restraints for the entire year. And we're talking about we probably used to have close to 70 a year.”
Currently, Ukeru is being used in twenty districts within Kent County ISD.
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