A former principal’s reflection

Meditation in Schools: A Former Principal’s Perspective

As a former high school teacher and principal, I remember how urgently we looked for ways to keep young people engaged in school. We wanted fewer students sent out of class, fewer days lost to suspension, and fewer young people quietly deciding that school was not for them. We were always looking for a better way to help a student pause, regroup, and stay connected.

That is why the story of Baltimore’s Mindful Moment Rooms is worth sharing. It is not a promise that meditation solves every challenge a school faces. It is an example of what can happen when students are given a respectful place to settle themselves before a difficult moment becomes a punishment, a fight, or another reason to give up.

A different response to a difficult moment

At Robert W. Coleman Elementary School in Baltimore, the Holistic Life Foundation helped create a Mindful Moment Room. Instead of automatically sending a distressed or disruptive child to detention or the principal’s office, staff could guide the student toward breathing, reflection, meditation, and a calm conversation about what happened.

The school reported zero suspensions in the 2013–14 school year, compared with four the year before. The Holistic Life Foundation later reported eight consecutive years with zero suspensions, along with improved attendance, academic performance, and fewer behavioral incidents. These are meaningful reported outcomes, not proof that one practice alone caused every change. Still, they point toward a healthier question for schools: what helps a young person return to self-control and belonging?

Why this matters to anyone who has worked in a school

Every educator knows that discipline is often about more than rules. A student may be carrying stress from home, conflict with friends, grief, fear, hunger, or a feeling that no adult understands. None of that makes hurtful behavior acceptable. It does mean that a response focused only on removal can miss the chance to teach a student how to move through a hard feeling without making the next choice worse.

In my years in education, we searched for ways to reduce the dropout rate and keep students engaged. The concern was never only whether a student followed a rule on one afternoon. It was whether that student still felt seen, capable, and connected enough to come back tomorrow. Small moments can add up. A student who learns to pause before reacting may be more able to remain in class, ask for help, recover from conflict, and believe that school still has a place for them.

The Baltimore example, carefully understood

The Mindful Moment approach was not merely a quiet room with cushions. The Holistic Life Foundation describes a broader school-day program that includes regular mindfulness practice, breathing, reflection, and support for students, educators, and staff. The room was one part of a consistent culture of self-regulation.

Patterson High School in East Baltimore also established a Mindful Moment Room. Reporting from PBS NewsHour Classroom described students using the space when they felt stressed or angry, and the school’s principal reported that fights had gone down. This does not mean meditation replaces skilled teachers, counseling, family support, safety planning, fair discipline, or clear boundaries. It is one practical tool that may help a student recognize what they are feeling and choose a calmer response.

A lesson for families and educators

The most hopeful part of this story is not a number. It is the belief that children and teenagers can learn skills for meeting strong emotions before those emotions take over. Breathing, meditation, and reflection can give a student a brief space between feeling and action. For some young people, that space can be the beginning of a different conversation.

Families do not need a special room to begin practicing a calmer pause. A few quiet minutes before school, after a disagreement, or before bed can become a regular rhythm. The goal is not perfection or obedience through silence. It is helping a young person notice what is happening inside and learn that they have choices about what comes next.

Sources: Upworthy’s January 2025 report on Robert W. Coleman Elementary School; the Holistic Life Foundation’s Coleman Elementary report; and PBS NewsHour Classroom’s report on Patterson High School.