Empowering Compassionate Leaders through School-Based Mindfulness

Community Safety

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

Tools for Peace is observing high rates of stress and trauma among the youth we serve related to several complex social-economic factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence, structural racism and other forms of oppression. As a result, student mental health and social-emotional skills have been negatively impacted. This is compounded by high rates of stress, burnout, and attrition among afterschool program staff and classroom teachers (EdSource). Staff have observed that students who took a break from in-person learning due to COVID-19 are less able to manage their behavior, less engaged, more reactive, and inexperienced at socializing in school settings. Staff and students at partnering LAUSD schools have thus expressed increased need for TFP programs at this time. "The middle school and high school years can make students feel like all of their value is external. This curriculum helps them go inside and discover their inherent worth." - Melissa Ruiz, TFP Program Director

Tools for Peace School-Based Programs include in-school workshops, afterschool clubs, and virtual clubs that provide students with tools to cultivate mindfulness, develop positive attitudes, resolve conflicts, cope with difficulties, develop self-motivation and self-confidence, and feel willing, able, and equipped to help others. Our diverse team of TFP Facilitators are all LAUSD alumni, most of whom work in the same schools they themselves attended. TFP Facilitators are trained and experienced in delivering our evidence-based social-emotional learning curriculum, which includes mindfulness activities (yoga, meditation, and art), personal reflection, group discussion, and community service. The TFP curriculum follows a three-step process: 1) Becoming Aware - Deeping awareness of thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations; 2) Broadening Perspective - Learning to proactively manage actions and reactions; 3) Compassion-in-Action - Engaging in service learning projects that address a community need. This grant will support TFP afterschool clubs (2-5 days per week) at Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School, Joseph Le Conte Middle School, Washington Irving Middle School, Thomas Starr King Middle School; monthly in-school workshops at Dr. Sammy Lee Medical and Health Science Magnet Elementary School; weekly virtual clubs offered year-round; and twice annual parent/caregiver workshops. It will allow us to deepen our impact by improving program frequency, accessibility, and quality.

For the current grant period, our hope is that by cultivating the skill of mindfulness students in our School-Based Programs will develop peaceful minds and their mental health and wellbeing will thrive. Empowered by increased self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-motivation, they will become compassionate leaders, promoting the core values of inclusion, non-judgement, and kindness in their relationships with family, friends, and the broader community. "[TFP] has taught me to take a step back and prioritize what I give my attention to. I want to spend my time giving my best to the people I love." - TFP Participant Our long-term vision for TFP School-Based Programs includes enhanced capacity to deliver this transformative curriculum to all young people in Los Angeles who may benefit. We envision a robust, well-resourced facilitation team rooted deeply in their communities and the TFP curriculum. This grant will provide us with critical momentum towards achieving this vision.

Research demonstrates that kindness and compassion lead to increased wellbeing, a strengthened immune system, and positive relationships, and that mindfulness instruction improves psychological functioning. Research on youth-serving programs shows that mindfulness leads to lower rates of: depression, negative affect, negative coping, rumination, self-hostility, and post-traumatic symptom severity (Sibinga et al. PEDIATRICS, 2016). TFP measures its impact through participant surveys and interviews with staff, teachers, and parents. We have partnered with researchers at U.C. Riverside Emotion Regulation Lab to study The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Adolescents' Stress Management in TFP programs. Through these means we have demonstrated that TFP programs result in improved focus, conflict resolution skills, confidence, and reduced stress among participants. "Mindfulness allowed [student name] to find a source of calm and a way to let go of negative thoughts." - TFP Parent