“Mindfulness teaches the skills of purposeful awareness, and can be applied to our experiences, thoughts, and emotions through sustained attention without reaction.

The vision of Mindful Schools is that mindfulness training becomes an intricate component of education as a whole, as a required course with teacher credentialing programs, integrated into daily classroom curriculum, and available to parents, thus allowing mindfulness to reach the entire community.

The mission of Mindful Schools is to support mindfulness training in educational settings by bringing programs to schools; to support teachers and administration in their own understanding and practice of mindfulness; and to be part of creating calmer, kinder, more peaceful, more effective learning environments throughout the country.

The mindfulness program is a five-week, 15 session course. A series of activities teach students how to focus their attention, how to do a single task at one time with full awareness, how to recognize and understand their emotions and how their actions and choices affect themselves and others. The mindfulness program provides four important benefits: 1) enhancing focus and concentration teaches children to pay attention; 2) improving impulse control helps students behave in class and reduces violence; 3) reducing stress enables students to learn more easily and promotes better health; 4) building community helps students feel connected to their teacher and each other. This Community Outreach Program helps guide students towards academic and personal success, helping others see themselves as vital members of their school and active contributors to society.

To learn more about this program, please visit their website at mindfulschools.org.