Increasing Social-Emotional Wellness, Activity & Academic Achievement

If one health-related phrase has emerged from the pandemic with even greater prominence, it is mental health—often referred to in schools as children’s “social-emotional wellness.”

The crisis in physical health caused by the COVID-19 virus has created a greater focus on mental health. Children were deprived of in-person contact with friends and teachers at school, and online learning and digital communications did not compensate for this among the vast majority of students. Transitions back to in-person learning have also been tough for many students.

We now have a great opportunity to remember the integral link of mind & body and work hard on improving both physical & mental health.

Just as regular physical activity can lead to a rapid improvements in physical health, and can improve cognition & academic achievement—mindfulness & related programs can have a rapid impact on both social-emotional wellness and academic success.

For example, the evidence-based benefits of the Inner Explorer program delivered online to the entire classroom are impressive:

With better social-emotional learning (SEL) throughout K-12, schools can contribute a great deal to improving “at-risk” students’ success in school and in life.

Healthy Students Healthy States gets us there.