Zen Den

The Zen Den at Appleton East High School will provide a safe space for East students to encourage them to focus on their mental health. 

Why Appleton East?
12% of high school students in the Fox Cities Region attempted suicide in the past year, and at Appleton East High School, with student enrollment at approximately 1,500, more than 1,049 counselor office visits were documented and the school experienced a fifteen percent increase in mental health hospitalizations in the 2018-19 school year alone.

These staggering statistics were eye-opening for a group of Leadership Fox Cities (a program of the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce) participants this past year. Upon reviewing the Fox Cities Life Study, these individuals decided to focus their group project on targeting mental health issues among student populations. 

After learning from Appleton Area School District and the Appleton Education Foundation that there was a strong and urgent need to create a safe physical space inside Appleton East High School, where students could take time for a mental, emotional, or physical health break, these individuals set out to help create a space that would allow students the opportunity to relieve stress and mental fatigue. They partnered with school principals, guidance staff, the engineering services coordinator, and students to design a serene, warm, and welcoming space.