A mental health program that has produced positive results for area elementary pupils with the St. Clair Catholic District school board is graduating to the secondary school level.
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A report presented to Catholic board trustees during a Jan 30. meeting in Wallaceburg detailed how the MindUP program has benefited pupils, educators and families during the last six years.
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MindUP has helped equip them with mental health fitness tools that build emotional resilience to face challenges with optimism, strength and compassion, stated a media release.
The program is a 15-lesson curriculum based in neuroscience and positive psychology that teaches pupils from kindergarten to Grade 8 “effective social emotional learning skills and applied knowledge they need for daily living and adulthood,” the school board said. “Some of these skills are self-regulation, self-awareness, positive coping strategies, stress management, enhanced learning skills and improved academic performance.”
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Now, a MindUP pilot is being planned for the board’s two secondary schools – Ursuline College in Chatham and St. Patrick’s in Sarnia – making it the first site in North America to test the curriculum in high school.
Superintendent of education Lisa Demers said Molly Lawlor, lead author and principal scientific advisor for the MindUP program, asked if the Catholic board was interested in expanding the program to secondary schools.
“We accepted because we have been using the elementary program many years now and are committed to supporting all of our students,” she said.
Last year, approximately 5,126 elementary students in 233 classes completed the program, with what the board described as promising results:
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- Before the program, 55 per cent of students reported having little understanding of the link between gratitude and mental wellbeing, which improved to 82 per cent after the program;
- Before the program 68 per cent of students reported having little understanding of how to calm themselves down, which improved to 87 per cent after the program;
- Before the program, 46 per cent of students reported practicing daily skills for wellbeing, which improved to 69 per cent after the program.
“Since 2018, there has been a notable increase in knowledge and behavior among students as it relates to MindUP,” said Demers.
“It is obvious that the yearly consistent teachings of this program have resulted in an increase in their understanding about positive mental health, their brain and the importance of practicing daily strategies,” she added.
Director of education Scott Johnson thanked the members of the board’s mental health and wellbeing team for “their tremendous work” with the program.
“Through their work with MindUP, they are leading our students to develop life skills and knowledge that they will carry with them into adulthood,” he said.
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