Peace in Schools Mindful Studies

Students forecast for our class, just as they would any other, and receive elective credit upon completion.

Eight years of direct service in Portland, Oregon and an award-winning pilot study with Johns Hopkins University show that our Mindful Studies course serves as an accessible, practical, and critical resource for teens — with particular benefit for marginalized youth and youth with high trauma. Our class is student, teacher, principal and parent approved!

We deliver an in-depth, immersive, relational education experience for teens. Our students receive 72-144 hours of direct teaching time in each class. Over the course of Mindful Studies, students go beyond basic mindfulness instruction and develop integrated and truly transformative mindfulness practices. We consistently develop and update our curricula based on emerging research in the fields of mindfulness, interpersonal neurobiology and trauma-informed care with an additional commitment to remain culturally responsive and equity-forward in our teachings.

Our Mindfulness Teachers have, on average, 5 years of experience with personal mindfulness practice and direct service to teens prior to coming on board with Peace in Schools. We offer extensive, in-depth training around our pedagogy, classroom approach and curriculum delivery and provide ongoing training and professional development.

We believe that every teen is whole, authentic, and deserving of wellbeing. We support teens in connecting with who they authentically are and in noticing — without judgment and with compassion — that which keeps them from doing so. We aren't here to "fix" teens or to give them anything they don't already have inside them. Rather, our class invites teens to remember their own inherent wholeness and to practice caring with themselves, each other and the world. We use mindfulness as a way to address mental health in teens to prepare them for the future, to live, joyful, courageous, healthy and peaceful lives.

Peace in Schools is a secular, research-backed, elective mindfulness program committed to depth and honoring the roots of awareness practices. We believe that mindfulness as a capacity belongs to every human, and is not exclusive to any culture or tradition. Mindfulness is something that can be practiced by all people, regardless of who you are, what you believe, or where you’re from. Mindfulness has roots in Buddhism and has been practiced in India and throughout Asia for centuries, though practices of presence can be found across cultures all over the world. Peace in Schools offers secular, trauma-informed tools for wellbeing rooted in equity and racial justice practices. It’s important to acknowledge and celebrate the very long and rich history of mindfulness as we try it out ourselves.

Mindful Studies is not an independent study course; the learning and transformation that takes place happens in a community context. Our courses average 22 students per class. Building trust and focusing on relationship are essential elements in the class.

The relationship between school counselors and Peace in Schools facilitators is one example of how the program serves and enhances existing school-based mental health services. Peace in Schools offers programming as both a Tier 1 (universal support) and research-backed Tier 2 (targeted support) program in high schools. School counselors routinely refer and encourage students having personal, social and academic challenges, to enroll in Mindful Studies. In addition to the supportive tools provided to these students through the curriculum, our instructors serve as an early warning system in the schools. Our team alerts counselors when students need one-on-one support or urgent interventions. These notifications included instances in which students have suggested self-harming or violent behaviors.