Sparta High School opens 'Align' Wellness Center
Youth. High schoolers now have a special place at high school, whether it's to cuddle 'Align's' therapy rabbit named Hank, or to just relax. School psychologist and "Align" program coordinator Dr. Susan Lorentz says it's all a part of keeping students healthy.
| 19 Oct 2019 | 06:01
Therapy rabbit in the arms of 12th graders Austin Castorina and Lauren Geoff. (
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Sparta High School 10th graders (from left to right) Jimmy Hyland, Sean Parks, Paul Gennat, Sam Esposito, AJ Davis. Oh, and Hank, the rabbit. (
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Angela Deluccia, Media Specialist, holds Hank the therapy rabbit (
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Hank is the newest addition to the Sparta High School wellness program, and he's already helping to bring peace and serenity to teens who are stressed out. Hank is a 7-month-old rabbit with the uncanny ability to soothe and calm people when they hold him. He was on hand at the debut of the Align Wellness Center last Tuesday which, under the direction of the guidance department, is an afternoon program that includes individual and group counseling, yoga, meditation and mindfulness.
“The movement toward implementing Align was a collective effort,” said Dr. Jane Esposito, the program's coordinator and a school psychologist on the Child Study Team since 2000. “We felt there was a need for a place where kids could receive individual and group counseling in a comfortable setting.”
That setting is the school library, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, it transforms into a place with comfortable seating, activities and calm setting where students can debrief and regroup. The program is funded by Sparta High School.
“The goal is to help kids learn healthy coping strategies,” said Dr. Susan Lorentz who has been a clinician and school psychologist for the Sparta Township School District since 2005.
“Students across the country and our students here have high stress levels these days,” Esposito said. “We want them to know they have a place to come.”
The Align Wellness Center's roll out afforded students the opportunity to visit the library set up as the after school center during their lunch periods. They enjoyed aromatherapy, writing on rocks and other activities while learning what the center is all about. In addition, staff were treated to a respite in the auditorium with some meditation.
In addition, the Align Center offers educational counseling, an alternative to suspension program, substance use and effects counseling, pet therapy, mindfulness training, meditation, family support services and psychiatric referrals.
“The school has had a Wellness Room for the past three or four years which recently re-opened after flooding,” Lorentz said. “If a student is under stress and needs a break, they come and check in and then a staff member checks on them to see what's going on within five minutes or immediately if the situation is severe.”
The school has also had a program called West Mountain Academy, an emotionally and behaviorally supportive program within Sparta High School, for the past seven years.
“We have established a great relationship with Montclair State University and have several interns working with us on this,” Esposito said. “The bottom line is to provide our students with support and counseling in a safe environment as effectively as possible.”