Room 121 E (more commonly known as the de-escalation room) has been all over the news lately. There have been rumors, and it’s one of the reasons why Mr. Dennis got fired. One specific rumor is that it targets students of color. But what exactly is it, and is there another reason why it’s used?

The de-escalation room has been under speculation for some time now. It has been accused of locking students in by themselves, and targeting students of color and students of color only. Basically, it has a bad rep, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change. 

But what does all this have to do with Mr. Dennis? When Mr. Dennis was fired, reports of the room came up, about a year or two of being used. Mr. Dennis was accused of dragging students into the room, then locking the door and standing beside the door outside. 

When I interviewed Mrs. Frenzel to get more information and another perspective, this is what she said:

Question: What is your perspective on the de-escalation room?

Mrs. Frenzel: “We actually call it the calm down room, and it’s a safe space for students to go to calm down.”

Q: Why do you think people made it sound like it was bad?

MF: “I don’t know why people made it sound like it was bad. Again, the purpose of the calm down room is to calm students down.”

Q: Do you think it is safe?

MF: “It is safe, yes.”

Q: What would you say right now if somebody came up to you and asked you why you use it if people say it’s unsafe?

MF: “It’s not unsafe. It’s a safe space for students to calm down.”

So now we have two perspectives on the de-escalation room, or as staff members call it, the calm down room.