Reset and Recharge, which began Jan. 27, is a program that allows students to foster connections with classmates, relax, play games and participate in sessions on self-care Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 6:30 in the high school library.
Bexley Education Foundation Executive Director Pamela Glasgow explained Reset and Recharge is a pilot program, funded by Tom and Julie Heilman.
“Tom and Julie Heilman have always been interested in supporting mental health for students,” she said. “They came to the school district with the idea.”
Glasgow explained the family created an endowment with the BEF called The Heilman Family Endowment for Student Mental Health and Wellness.
Intervention specialist Krupa Shah said she and math teacher Jennifer Kirk are the advisers of the program.
Shah said she learned about the program through Assistant Principal Willie Cook.
“I had just kind of talked to Dr. Cook about looking for opportunities, and Dr. Cook, Mrs. Kearns and Mr. Caudill thought this would be a great place for me to be,” Shah said.
Kirk said she learned about the program through an email from Principal Jason Caudill, asking staff if anyone was interested in assisting with the program.
Shah said the activities include paint by numbers, origami, card and board games and puzzles.
Additionally, the high school’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital clinicians began leading self-care sessions March 3.
“Our goal is to really provide prevention support,” Nationwide Clinical Supervisor Aden Mogues said. “We want to come up with some fun activities for kids to also understand mental health.”
The self-care sessions are intended to support a wide range of mental health needs, Mogues added.
While Kirk said attendance has fluctuated, a few students have been attending regularly.
“Our highest numbers were 27 and our lowest number was probably eight,” she added.
Sophomore Hayleigh Mays said she began attending because her favorite teachers run the group.
“Mrs. Kirk is my math teacher,” she said. “Ms. Shah is my study hall teacher, so I just kind of formed a bond with her during that time.”
Junior Darby Crilly said she joined because of the program’s secluded environment.
“It’s a nice space,” she said. “It’s quiet and I can just get stuff done even if it’s not homework.”
Mays said she would encourage other students to join as long as they are respectful and take it seriously.
Shah said she hopes the program will grow.
“I really hope this can be a place for students to come and relax and do activities,” she said. “Just get an opportunity to connect with their friends at a deeper level but also just have a place to be.”
Published and digitized March 2026.
