Raleigh Schools Launch Multiple New Mindfulness Programs This Fall

Raleigh public schools added mindfulness sessions to 18 elementary and middle sites starting this month, with the largest rollout at schools serving the Five Points and Cameron Village neighborhoods.

Student anxiety reports in Wake County climbed 18 percent between 2023 and 2025, according to district health data, pushing administrators to add short daily practices instead of waiting for outside referrals. The programs fit into existing school schedules without requiring new staff hires at most locations.

Named programs now running

Enloe High School on Oberlin Road offers a 12-week course called Mindful Transitions that meets twice weekly in the library after the final bell. Students learn breathing exercises and short body scans before exams. At the same time, the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department runs after-school groups at Pullen Park that serve third through fifth graders from nearby Wiley Elementary, using the park’s open fields for walking meditations on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Both efforts draw from a county curriculum developed with the local chapter of the Mindfulness in Schools Project. Teachers completed 20-hour certification courses last spring at the Wake County Office on Six Forks Road.

Numbers behind the expansion

A 2025 internal evaluation of pilot classes at four Raleigh schools showed average reductions of 14 percent on student self-reported stress scales after eight weeks. The full program costs participating schools $28 per student for materials and trainer time, with scholarships covering 40 percent of spots this year. Enrollment opened July 1 and runs through the first week of August.

Parents can sign up through each school’s front office or the Wake County Schools website. Families seeking evening options can also check the Triangle Meditation Center’s Saturday workshops on Glenwood Avenue, which accept student referrals from school counselors.