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Mindful Practices for Resilient Students

By Linda Bovino-Romeo, Ph.D.; Michael DeTuro, Ed.D.; John P. Pascale;

Danielle Poleway; Nikki Van Ess; Suzanne Whalen; and Christine Zimmermann,
Administrative Team in Mahwah Township Public Schools

In the fall of 2014, the After consulting with community The students named their idea “Proj-

ninth through twelfth members and peers and speaking with ect P.E.A.C.E. (Public Education and
school and district administrators, the
Community Empowerment) of Mind,”
grade students in Mahwah students identified their “community and they set out to develop workable
High School’s Community problem” as one that hit very close to solutions that would help themselves
and their classmates foster resilience
home: the pervasive stress and anxi-
Problem Solving class ety impacting many high school stu- amid the competing pressures of
dents on a daily basis. Typical teenage their increasingly complex world. The
were grappling with finding stressors like juggling academic work class initiated multiple strategies to
a topic of focus for their and extracurricular activities, building address the issue, many of which are
a resume for college, and navigating still in place at Mahwah High School
year’s work — work that would relationships were being exacerbated today: Mindful Mondays (whole school
eventually become their team entry by the “always on” immediacy and mindfulness practices during morning
in the Community Problem Solving hyper-connectedness of social media. announcements), after school yoga
(CmPS) international competition. Students were having trouble calming sessions, middle school to high school
The competition challenges students to their overactive minds, regulating their transition assistance, P.E.A.C.E. web-
“identify real problems and implement emotions, and finding focus. site, and art therapy classes.
real solutions in a community — local,
state, national, or even global.”

Educational Viewpoints -20- Spring 2018