Luzerne County Head Start cuts ribbon on new sensory room created by Leadership Northeast group

Lynn Evans Biga, executive director of Luzerne County Head Start, stands at the door of Head Start’s new sensory room on Beekman Street in Wilkes-Barre. Fred Adams | For the leader of time

WILKES-BARRE — A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday at Head Start of Luzerne County on Beekman Street, Wilkes-Barre, signifying the completion of the organization’s first sensory room.

The Sensory Room is a community impact project organized by Leadership Northeast’s Core Class 2024 Head Start Heroes team. The team worked with Luzerne County Head Start to create a sensory room for all young children who attend Head Start’s Beekman Street Center.

According to Beth White, deputy executive director of Luzerne County Head Start, the sensory room will give them a safe, quiet place to relax and be themselves. While children with autism or those on the autism spectrum are the ones who primarily use the sensory rooms, Head Start Heroes and Luzerne County Head Start envision this space to be for children of all abilities.

Members of the Head Start Heroes group are part of Leadership Northeast’s (LNE) Core Class of 2024 and include Chelsey Coslett, Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC); Michele Duris, Step-by-Step Inc.; Amy Hoyt, Building Blocks Learning Center; AJ Jump, the FM Kirby Center for the Performing Arts; Chris Mayerski, Wilkes University; Jaclyn Reisser, Mobiniti; and Rebecca Thomas, Empower. The group chose the sensory room as LNE’s community impact project because they wanted to create something sustainable and that would last for years.

The team sent donor letters to friends, family, networks, and workplaces asking for monetary and in-kind donations from their Amazon wish list. Head Start Heroes also held a successful concert, Tunes for Tots, at the River Street Jazz Cafe in April to also help raise funds. Through these efforts, the team exceeded their fundraising goal and was able to purchase the remaining items from Amazon’s wish list.

Head Start Heroes painted the sensory room, designed the layout and installed the items. Occupational therapist Bridget Rischawy of Beyond Behavior will train Head Start staff on how to maximize the use of each item based on the child’s needs. This project is the start of a major initiative at Luzerne County Head Start, opening the doors to future sensory rooms for all of its centers.