**1. Introduction**

Several researchers have presented how community engagement enhances partnerships between the University and the public while providing positive impacts on learning experiences [1, 2]. This article discusses a partnership between a school community and University in the design of the school calming room, dining room, and teacher sanctuary. Calming rooms have been found to support the well-being of children and youth, particularly in improving their self-regulation skills. Calming rooms are spaces that students can retreat to when they feel particularly agitated or dysregulated [3], and trauma-informed care approaches support the creation of such spaces where students can learn to better self-regulate [4–6]. Such spaces utilize design elements that facilitate calming and relaxation, such as soothing colors, like blue, green, and violet color palettes, and minimal stimulation [3, 7]. Calming rooms, or "sensory rooms", have largely been implemented with children and youth in residential psychiatric settings and juvenile justice facilities. For schools, this is a relatively novel approach, with limited empirical research on its impacts. Anecdotally, teachers have reported that calming rooms in schools have led to improvements in self-regulation [4]. Teachers have also reported that children have a positive view of calming rooms as a quiet, peaceful space to retreat to when something is bothering them [8, 9]. As such, improving self-regulation skills, which are often negatively impacted by chronic stress and trauma [10, 11], is a fundamental goal in supporting children's health and well-being. Dining and cafeteria spaces can be another source of influences on students' mood. A friendly, family-like, and collaborative eating environment boosts comfort and relatedness in children [12]. While elementary students can experience the primary effects of trauma and stress, other school personnel also suffer from secondary effects. Teachers and staff are involved in students' development, and in need of health and well-being support [13, 14]. A teacher sanctuary provides space for teachers and staff to refuel and rejuvenate in the school environment.
