The School Program Helping Kids Love Themselves

Emily Johnson · 2026-09-09

What if the most important thing we taught kids wasn't math or reading, but how to actually understand themselves? That's the radical question behind Peace in Schools, a program bringing mindfulness into regular school curriculum. I sat down with Executive Director Janice Martellucci to talk about it, and honestly, our conversation shifted something in me. ### Why Mindfulness Belongs in Schools Janice doesn't talk about mindfulness as a nice extra. For her, it's foundational. "We're not teaching kids to calm down so they can behave," she told me. "We're teaching them to meet themselves." That distinction matters more than it sounds. Think about it. Most of us went through school learning to optimize, perform, and compare. Very few of us were taught to notice what we were feeling, or to sit with discomfort without panicking. Peace in Schools flips that. It's evidence-based, intentional, and embedded into the school day, not tacked on as an after-school club. ### What Kids Actually Get Out of It The results Janice describes aren't abstract. They show up in real moments: - A student pausing before reacting to a bully - A teenager noticing anxiety building and naming it instead of spiraling - A classroom that feels calmer because one kid decided to breathe And here's the part that stuck with me. Janice kept returning to the idea of "inherent wholeness." That kids don't need fixing. They need space to remember who they already are. > "We're not trying to make kids better. We're helping them see they were never broken." That line has been rattling around in my head for days. ### The Ripple Effect Beyond the Classroom When kids learn to meet themselves with curiosity instead of judgment, it doesn't stay contained. It spills into how they talk to their parents. How they handle failure. How they show up for friends. Janice shared stories of teachers noticing shifts in school culture, not because of new rules, but because students were regulating themselves differently. It's slow work. It's not flashy. But it's the kind of work that changes trajectories. ### What This Means for Grown-Ups Too If you're a mindful living professional, this conversation is a mirror. We spend so much time teaching adults to breathe, to slow down, to notice. But what if we started earlier? What if the next generation didn't have to unlearn as much? Janice's work isn't just about kids. It's a reminder that wholeness isn't something we achieve. It's something we uncover. And the earlier we help people remember that, the less time they spend chasing something they already have. You can learn more about Peace in Schools and their curriculum work through their official channels, but honestly, the takeaway is simple. Equip kids to meet and love themselves, and everything else gets a little easier.