A southern New Jersey school is using its new sensory room to help children with special needs focus and learn.

About 20 students use the space at West End Memorial Elementary in Woodbury. Educators say the rooms are becoming more popular as districts seek to better serve children with disabilities and keep them in their districts.

The room is flanked by large windows with half-drawn shades to give kids a break from harsh fluorescent lights, busy classrooms and noise. It features a swing to calm children, along with a trampoline and exercise balls to help kids work out their energy.

Principal Vincent Myers says fewer children have been sent to his office for fidgeting, inattention and making noise since the sensory room was put in.