Tuning out the stress of educational expectations, school violence, and difficult home situations can be hard for students, which is why Stacy Sims, a Cincinnati-based yoga and movement educator who also works with trauma victims, came up with the idea for Mindful Music Moments.
The idea came to her after working with refugee students and listening to the morning announcements. She realized that she couldn’t personally work with multiple students in individual schools, but that she could reach them through the intercom, with the help of classical music.
More than 100 schools around the country currently use this practice, and both educators and students are noticing the difference.
“We have kids coming from parents that are just trying to make ends meet, working third shift, single parents,” says Erica Wigton, principal of Canterbury Elementary in Cleveland Heights. “So we try to make school like a special place. That's one of the reasons we feel mindful music is a great way to start the day, because it re-centers everyone, including myself.”
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