A local nonprofit unveiled a new effort to reduce the stress children and teachers feel in the classroom.
The nonprofit Center for Mindful Living collected funds for Practices in Awareness and Understanding for Sustaining Educators on Wednesday night at its Catalyst fundraiser. Known as PAUSE, the professional development program will begin in the fall at some of Chattanooga’s public schools to train teachers how to incorporate mindfulness in their classrooms.
The center, which opened in Chattanooga in 2012, started working in five schools this year and has trained students and teachers on mindfulness practices, which can look like breathing exercises and other ways of focusing the mind, according to Elizabeth Kabalka, the center’s executive director.
“It’s given my teachers tools on how to de-stress,” said Vonetta Maston, principal at Hillcrest Elementary School. ‘They are taking the time in the moment to relax. For the kids, it has given them the time to connect with themselves.”
Maston said some of the most beneficial parts of the training have been discussions on trauma and how it affects the brain. Research shows that trauma experienced in childhood can have toxic effects on student achievement, and children living in concentrated poverty are more likely to experience trauma.