Turnaround’s Work at Houston Elementary School Highlighted in The Washington Post

In her article, To Manage the Stress of Trauma, Schools are Teaching Students how to Relax, Michael Chandler highlights the relationship between Turnaround for Children and Houston Elementary School in Washington, D.C., and the use of mindfulness to help students manage the stress they encounter in their daily lives.

Neuroscientific  research shows that adverse experiences such as abuse, witnessing violence or homelessness can impact healthy brain development, making concentration and learning more difficult. This research has motivated educators to think twice about zero-tolerance discipline policies, helping them recognize that mental health support is often more effective than punishment.

While only in the first year of its partnership with Turnaround, Houston has already seen results. “School suspensions have been reduced significantly…from 76 last year to 19 this year, and a survey showed dramatic improvements in how school staffers perceive the school’s climate. Last spring, just a third of employees said they thought students felt physically safe in the building, compared with 94 percent this spring.”

Click here to read Chandler’s full piece in The Washington Post.