Back to School: SoCal school teaches mindfulness to help students focus, deal with issues off campus

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Ánimo Compton Charter Leadership Academy offers every academic subject and activity you would expect from a sixth-through-12th grade school. But there's also a focus on helping students cope with what they're facing outside school and prevent it from negatively impacting what's happening on the inside.

"We're going to start today's activity by taking some deep breaths. Go ahead and close your eyes and look down at the floor," said one of the teachers.

Following the pandemic, Green Dot Public Schools, which operates 18 schools across Los Angeles including Ánimo Compton, introduced mindfulness programming. The reason - to support the social and emotional growth of students, which has translated to an improved performance in academics.

"Poverty on an extreme level, homelessness on an extreme level - if you are an immigrant student in today's society, you are worried about being able to walk out your door and if you're going to be able to make it to school, to the grocery store," said Anton Blakely, an English teacher at Ánimo Compton Charter Leadership Academy.

Blakely says he's noticed a real change in how his students express themselves which has helped them realize they're not alone.

"It's a Tuesday, and you haven't eaten since 6 o'clock on Sunday. How likely are you to be focused on multiplication tables, or geometry, or trigonometry or calculus or anything. You're going to be thinking about food. When is my next meal coming? What can we do to help that student manage that situation?" Blakely said.

"I feel like it really helped me calm down and focus on my work more," said student Drayden Brooks.

"I had depression and a lot of issues at home. I wasn't able to control everything at the same time. Using the mindfulness strategies have helped me stay more focused. Continue to do my work and be more active in school," said student Diana Robles.

Students say mindfulness has helped them at home too, giving them the confidence to plan for the next phase of life, college.