Janice Martellucci on Teaching Mindfulness to High School Students

# Overview

# How Martellucci arrived at this work Martellucci traces her interest in mindfulness to childhood experiences in nature and early exposure to meditation through her father, a philosopher. Personal challenges in her twenties led her deeper into meditation practice. Her background in outdoor education showed her transformative experiences mattered but often didn't address deeper needs, which drew her to Peace in Schools in 2015.

# What the classes teach Peace in Schools teaches mindfulness as remembrance in two senses. First, students learn the practical skill of coming back to the present moment—a tool for emotional regulation and better decision-making. Second, the curriculum supports students in reconnecting with an internal sense of being "inherently whole," which Martellucci describes as an internal resource that can carry them through hardship.

# Who attends and what they bring Students come with varied experiences. Some have prior exposure to brief mindfulness exercises, often used for classroom management. Others arrive with no familiarity. According to Martellucci, regardless of background or reasons for enrolling, the program produces similar benefits across the student body.

# Outcomes and evaluation Peace in Schools uses end-of-semester surveys and focus groups to measure outcomes. They report increases in resilience, self- and other-compassion, capacity to respond rather than react, and improved sense of belonging and relationships. The organization cites a Johns Hopkins study that supports their internal findings and signals that the program is particularly beneficial for marginalized students, including LGBTQ+ youth.

# Why Martellucci thinks this matters now Martellucci highlights uncertainty about the future and rapid social change as reasons these skills are especially relevant for today's teenagers. She emphasizes that cultivating both present-moment skills and a stable sense of self equips young people for challenges the world will present.

# Program reach and practical notes

# Bottom line The program pairs practical mindfulness techniques with identity-focused practices aimed at strengthening resilience and belonging. Evaluation data and external study support the claim that students experience measurable benefits, with notable effects for marginalized groups.