Mindfulness in Schools: What Local Programs Are Available

Wake County Public School System added mindfulness training to 18 elementary classrooms this month, with the first sessions held at schools along Hillsborough Street and in the Five Points neighborhood.

Student mental health concerns have risen sharply since the end of the 2024-2025 school year, when district counselors logged a 22 percent increase in anxiety-related visits compared with the prior year. Local educators say the timing aligns with parent requests for tools that fit into the regular school day rather than after-school add-ons.

Programs at specific Raleigh campuses

At Lacy Elementary on St. Marys Street, teachers now lead 10-minute breathing exercises twice weekly using a curriculum developed with the Raleigh Mindfulness Project. The same group runs a parallel effort at Hunter Magnet Elementary, where sessions take place in the library on Tuesday mornings before first bell. Both sites opened enrollment to all grade levels after a pilot run last spring showed steady attendance.

Families in North Hills can also reach the North Carolina Center for Mindfulness, which supplies trained instructors to Broughton High School on St. Albans Drive. That partnership began in March and includes monthly parent workshops held in the school auditorium.

Numbers behind the expansion

District records show the programs cost roughly $12,000 per school for materials and instructor stipends during the 2025-2026 year. A March 2026 internal report found that classrooms using the exercises recorded an average 15 percent drop in office referrals for behavior issues over eight weeks. The district plans to add four more schools by January 2027 if current sites maintain participation rates above 70 percent.

Parents interested in the sessions can contact their child’s school counselor or register for the next open house on July 22 at the Raleigh Convention Center downtown. Space is limited and spots are filled on a first-come basis.