At WholeSchool, our work is rooted at the intersection of justice, education, and mindfulness. Beyond just a personal practice, we believe that mindfulness is a transformative force for collective well-being. When applied intentionally, mindfulness can ease the suffering of individuals and communities and foster social justice and anti-racism in school communities.
As an organization committed to the well-being and flourishing of young people, we recognize our responsibility to challenge and disrupt systems that perpetuate injustice. We reject the use of mindfulness as a tool for social control or compliance. Mindfulness is not a tool to pacify students, suppress their voices, or police their bodies. Mindfulness is a tool to empower individuals and communities to see clearly, speak truthfully, and act with courage in the face of injustice.
We recognize that each school community has unique needs and strengths, and our approach honors this diversity. Our Mindfulness Directors have the autonomy and support to create programming that serves their specific community. A Mindfulness Director serving a predominantly white school community may focus on using mindfulness to help students and staff recognize and address systemic bias and privilege. Meanwhile, a Mindfulness Director serving a primarily BIPOC community may emphasize mindfulness as a tool for healing from oppression, cultivating joy, and building resilience. This contextual approach honors the wisdom and lived experience of our directors while ensuring mindfulness serves justice in all its forms.
In every aspect of our work, we commit to action, accountability, and transformation.
School Partnerships
We view schools as catalysts for systemic change. Through deep, equity-centered partnership, we seek to co-create environments where justice and healing are prioritized. We hold ourselves accountable to the following:
- Ensuring that at least 75% of our partner schools are public.
- Partner with schools where at least ⅔ serve predominantly BIPOC and/or low-income communities
- Collaborate with schools that demonstrate a clear commitment to justice and equity
- Support school leadership in understanding and nurturing the connection between mindfulness and social justice
90% of our K-12 partner school leaders report that their Mindfulness Director made a positive impact on justice initiatives at their school.
Mindfulness Directors
Our Mindfulness Directors are leaders in cultivating awareness, compassion, and anti-racist communities. We believe their presence can transform school culture from the inside out. We commit to:
- Prioritize the recruitment and support of BIPOC Mindfulness Directors, recognizing the historical underrepresentation and underresourcing of BIPOC people in wellness spaces
- Ensure at least 50% of Mindfulness Directors are BIPOC
- Ensure a majority of our Mindfulness Directors reflect the racial and cultural demographics of the school communities that they serve
- Provide training in culturally responsive, anti-racist pedagogy to all Mindfulness Directors and mentors
- Provide dedicated space and time for Mindfulness Directors to design, reflect on, and advance anti-racist practices in their schools
- Center the voices of Mindfulness Directors by regularly seeking their input
In my 20 year teaching career, I have never received professional development that is as justice-oriented as the training I’ve received through WholeSchool. WholeSchool consistently supports me in using my skills as an mindful academic educator to promote justice in concrete, practical ways at my specific school. – Mindfulness Director
Organizational Design
We are committed to justice not only in our external practices, but also in how we show up internally. In how we lead, how we make decisions, how we hire, and how we grow, we hold ourselves accountable to:
- Build and maintain structures that foster shared power, belonging, transparency and feedback in all aspects of the organization
- Recruit and hire from a diverse and representative pool of candidates for staff and Board positions
- Provide ongoing training for staff and board members around anti-racism, bias, and oppression
- Engage external experts to ensure reflection, accountability, and continued growth
- Ensure that governance consistently reflects on the organization’s progress in regard to anti-racism and social justice
What has been truly transformative and supportive for me is having a team at WholeSchool that truly “co-creates” a program with me that is just right for my school. What’s more, I have never in my life worked with an organization that so truly lives out the value of “justice” in every interaction that we have. On a regular basis, the WholeSchool community demonstrates how to truly enact justice rather than just talk about it. – Mindfulness Director
At WholeSchool, we acknowledge the harmful impact of systemic racism in our country and the effects of white dominant culture on the design of systems, laws, and societal norms that perpetuate oppression. We believe that mindfulness can help us become more aware of racial conditioning and bias, hold complexity, skillfully manage emotions, grow in empathy and compassion, and value the interconnectedness of our world. Through partnership with school communities, placement of mindfulness directors, and the design of WholeSchool as an organization, we strive to create a just society.