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While other students in Auburn Junior High School have been bound to their desks Tuesday afternoons this school year, Kristi Newton's health class has been doing yoga. The yoga provides physical exercise but the purpose of the class goes beyond that. Newton began using yoga as a way to cope with the unexpected death of her brother-in-law, Peter Thomson, around four years ago. She eventually thought that since yoga helped her get through her loss, it might be able to help her students deal...

I used to hate summers and holidays as a kid because it meant too much time at home and too much time, unstructured, with people who weren't safe. For me, that was my biological father, my first step-father and two step-siblings and I didn't hate long breaks and time away from school. I loved September and when Christmas break was over. This isn't a post about what happened to me as a kid. It's a reminder for teachers that home can be hard and what you do, allow, see and witness, even...

In Southern Oregon, Janai Mestrovich, MS, Early Learning & Child Development, labels her curriculum Empowering Superkids. The focus is on pre-K and Kindergarten kids and teaching them to know her/himself and tap inner resources of mind/body/emotions/breathing and have skills to make good choices and feel like a SUPERKID. Teaching self awareness, self respect and communication/collaboration are essential towards resiliency. Janai has developed and taught the Superkid Guidebook over a 40...

M ost states have laws mandating health education in primary and secondary schools, but New York will be the first to emphasize mental health instruction for all grades. The move follows legislation signed into law in 2016 and slated to take effect in July 2018, in time for the new school year. The first signs of mental health problems begin, on average, at about 14 years old, yet the average age that individuals seek help is 24. School-age children are particularly vulnerable, with 8...

L.A. Unified mental health experts say that self-care is the key to not simply surviving but thriving during the holidays and other times of stress. This means slowing down and taking time for yourself. Stretch your muscles before you get up in the morning, stick to your exercise routine and take time to take a deep breath and slow down. Through a grant from the California Endowment , funded by the David Lynch Foundation , students and staff at Gage Middle School are practicing...

On an early fall evening, hundreds of students, ranging from 1st-graders to high school seniors, filed onto the stage of a cavernous auditorium at a San Francisco Bay Area high school. One by one, they marched to the microphone to state their name and their milestone in achieving perfect attendance for at least a year: Some had made the goal for four years, some for seven years. One girl, a recent graduate, received a trophy in absentia, for 12. Twelve years without a single tardy, let alone...

Taking her seat at the end of a long table, the leader of a Southwest Detroit elementary school was clearly rattled by the bad luck of having been called first. “Good morning,” she said, as she glanced down at her notes, then up at the colleagues and bosses who stared back at her from around the hot and crowded room. “Sorry, I’m very nervous,” she said through a shaky voice before launching into a list of facts about her school. [For more on this story by ERIN EINHORN, go to...

Librarians are already doing their part by posting “All Welcome Here” posters, presenting educational programs that offer insight into different cultures, and providing safe, bully-free environments, but it’s also important to focus on some internal housekeeping with some of our most impressionable members. The following activities have proven successful with tweens in my library and community. ZENTANGLES Zentangles is meditation through doodling. It was much bigger a few years ago, but it’s...

In studies on job satisfaction and burnout, teachers often cite “lack of supportive work environment” as a main cause of attrition. I know my colleagues and I have all felt the stress of increased workloads due to resource limitations, the pressure of performance evaluations and lack of autonomy in the classroom. These factors can contribute to an environment antithetical to the art and science of teaching. The good news is researchers have also found that positive relationships with...

Many K–12 students are experiencing ongoing life stresses. Recognizing this can help educators respond effectively to their needs. Looking at Felitti and colleagues' list of adverse events (which includes experiences like a parent going to jail, the death of a loved one, or substance misuse in the home), teachers will likely realize how prevalent traumatic experiences are among today's students. The ACEs study has been replicated over time and has since included looking at the impact of ACEs...

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana teachers and mental health experts are advocating for communities to implement mental health programs emphasizing a method called “trauma-informed care” inside schools. “Trauma-informed care started from something called the ‘Adverse Childhood Experience Survey,’ and it shows that childhood experiences affect behavior,” said Stephanie Shene, communications coordinator for the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS). “Instead of ‘kids act badly,’ some...

In the glittery bustle of the holidays, teachers often scramble to fit in last-minute lessons and refocus students dreaming of vacation excitement. It’s worthwhile to pause in the middle of all that excitement to build in reflective moments of gratefulness. Yet without a clear plan to foster classroom gratitude, we risk missing the improved attitude , improved physical and psychological health , and enhanced social and emotional skills that giving thanks can bring. Positive psychology...