REX, Georgia — The third-graders at Roberta T. Smith Elementary School had just a few days left until summer vacation and an hour until lunch, but they had no trouble focusing when they walked into class. They were ready for one of their favorite times of the day.
The children closed their eyes and traced their thumbs from their foreheads to their hearts as a pre-recorded voice guided them through an exercise called shark fin, which is part of the class’s regular meditation routine.
“Listen to the chimes,” says teacher Kim Franklin. “Remember to breathe.”
Schools across the United States have implemented yoga, meditation and mindfulness exercises to help students manage stress and emotions. As students’ mental health struggles have become evident in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year endorsed schools for use of these practices.
Research has shown that school-based mindfulness programs can help, especially in low-income communities where students face high levels of stress or trauma.
The mindfulness program reached Smith Elementary through a contract with the school system, Clayton County Public Schools, where two-thirds of the students are black.
GreenLight Fund Atlanta, a network that connects communities with local nonprofits, is helping Georgia school systems pay for mindfulness programming provided by Inner Explorer, an audio platform.
Joli Cooper, executive director of GreenLight Fund Atlanta, said it was important for the group to support an organization that is accessible and relevant to communities of color in the Greater Atlanta area.
Across the country, children have been dealing with the effects of isolation and remote learning as they return from pandemic-related school closures. In 2023, the CDC reported that more than a third of students were affected by persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness. The agency recommended that schools use mindfulness practices to help students manage their emotions.
“We know that our teens and young adults have very challenging mental health,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen told The Associated Press. “We can give our teens real skills to make sure they know how to manage some of the strong emotions.”
Mindfulness approaches represent a form of social-emotional learning that has become a political point of contention with many conservatives who say schools use it to promote progressive ideas about race, gender and sexuality.
But advocates say the program brings much-needed attention to student well-being.
“When you look at the numbers, unfortunately, in Georgia, the number of children of color who have suicidal thoughts and are successful is quite high,” Cooper said. “When you look at the number of psychologists available to these children, there are not enough psychologists of color.”
According to CDC statistics, black youth are experiencing the highest suicide rate among ethnic groups. Between 2007 and 2020, the suicide rate among black children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 increased by 144%.
“There’s a stigma to being able to say you’re not okay and you need help, and to have the ability to ask for help,” said Tolana Griggs, assistant principal at Smith Elementary School. “With our diverse school community and wanting to be more aware of our students, how different cultures feel and how they react to events, it’s important to be inclusive in everything we do.”
Nationally, children attending schools that serve predominantly students of color have less access to psychologists and counselors than those attending schools that serve predominantly white students.
The Inner Explorer program guides students and teachers through five- to 10-minute breathing, meditation, and reflection sessions, several times a day. The program is also used in Atlanta Public Schools and more than 100 other districts across the country.
Teachers and administrators say they’ve seen a difference in their students since incorporating mindfulness into their routines. For 9-year-old Aniyah Woods, the program helped her “calm down” and “not stress out.”
“I love myself just the way I am, but Inner Explorer just helps me feel more like myself,” Aniyah said.
Malachi Smith, 9, used his exercises at home, with the help of his father who guided him through the meditation.
“You can relax with the shark fin, and when I calm down, I realize I’m a great scholar,” Malachi said.
After Franklin’s class finished their meditation, they shared how they were feeling.
“Relaxed,” one student said.
Aniyah raised her hand.
“It made me feel at peace,” she said.
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