What are some best practices and resources for developing a mindfulness culture in your school or district?

It is important when creating your intervention to not equate formal meditation (a specific kind of mindfulness) with mindfulness. We have the option to take a broader view, of connecting with our awareness, reducing our judgments and increasing curiosity, in every moment not just when we are meditating. What might change in your plan and assessments if mindfulness is a mindset, not an activity?

Cultural change takes time, so setting realistic goals and expectations for your mindfulness initiative is essential. Creating a mindful culture requires patience and intent. When defining objectives, consider how mindfulness can support academic goals, social and emotional learning, student engagement, and overall well-being. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis can help evaluate readiness for a cultural shift. Involve stakeholders from the start — their engagement will be vital in creating a successful mindfulness initiative. Remember that there may be resistance to introducing a mindfulness culture. Set realistic goals and expectations and start small — focus on one goal at a time and build up from there.

One often overlooked consideration for the feasibility of a new program is whether or not something else will be removed. Even an amazing program can feel like just one more thing to do if it’s piled on top of an already overwhelming workload. Consider what can be removed or even paused in order to effectively and joyfully integrate a new mindfulness program. You know, that would be a really mindful way to go about it.

In addition, I believe that is is especially important to encourage and support administrators, teachers, and staff in the development of mindfulness practices in their own lives. This nurtures a culture that values and promotes mindfulness in the school or district.

I would recommend creating and implementing a mindfulness program with staff before introducing it to students. Once staff at every level find value in and support for mindful approaches to their work (and life), they will more effectively and authentically help create that value for students too. If it becomes just another thing that "must be done", your project has likely failed before it even starts.

Supporting teachers with mindfulness programming is essential if you are looking to create a mindful school culture. This is a win win. Teachers are facing burnout in great numbers and they need support. Teachers are also the ones in the classroom 24/7 - they help to create culture. If they see the benefit of mindfulness themselves they will want to implement it into the classroom. I have created Professional Development Programming for teachers as well as implementing classroom programming with the teacher present. This approach works well.

- Consider events and workshops led by meditation, mindfulness, and yoga/qi gong/tai chi, etc. teachers so families and students are exposed to different styles of mindful and body-movement activities that facilitate mindfulness. - Have fun homework assignments where students practice mindful eating, breath work, mantra, guided meditation, etc. and can get extra credit for teaching these skills to siblings, cousins, parents, grandparents, etc. - Create classroom rituals to increase mindfulness and cohesiveness - Provide handouts and newsletters with information about the benefits of mindfulness and tips on practicing mindfulness in everyday activities

Organizational mindfulness (introducing mindfulness into process and policy organization-wide) declares to all stakeholders that this matters. If organizations continue to promote self-care without providing deep and systemic practices to enhance well-being, it becomes even more difficult to create true change around mindfulness culture.

While I haven't scaled mindfulness programs in a school or district, I have at a major fortune 10 company. I believe the same rules apply. -Modeling mindfulness is a great first step - Building communities of practice with a small group, and have them share their experiences with others - Provide a mechanism for folks to connect and share between sessions like an online group or forum - Gather feedback from members, so you can meet them where they are - Track more than buts is seats, but also impact metrics and satisfaction scores. Make adjustments accordingly - Aim to get leadership buy in to allow the program to thrive, get funding, and support its growth

- Consider a newsletter, challenges and other ways for members to stay engaged between sessions - Explore the possibility of accountability partners to help keep people accountable - Find advocates across teams or areas of your org, to be the local voice for the program, and to help surface needs that you might not see from where you are - Experiment with days/times/lengths and formats that work best for your audience - Deepen your practice. There is no better way to be a facilitator, than to come from a place of practice and embodied wisdom