Mindful Music Moments promotes positive mental health for K-12 students

Having a moment to just breathe is sometimes the regroup you need to help make it through your day. That's the opportunity that students at Monroe Local Schools get daily, and it's all thanks to Mindful Music Moments. 

Gift Chimeruche is an 8th grader at Monroe Jr. High School with a lot on her plate. 

“Sometimes I just feel stressed out from my chores, doing other activities, and grades. Can’t forget the grades,” she said.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 20% of young people ages 12-17 have unmet mental health care needs. That’s where Mindful Music Moments is stepping in.

“The instruments really help, like woodwind instruments and all of that. It just makes you relax the rest of the day,” Chimeruche said. 

It’s The Well's, a Cincinnati-based non-profit, signature program.  The daily exercise uses mindfulness prompts and world-class music to bring peace and calm to more than 300 k-12 schools nationwide. 

In the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region, the program supports more than 60 schools, over 25 districts and upwards of 29,000 students.

“And what's happening are the vibrations and the sound waves of the instruments are speaking to a part of our brain called the vagus nerve. That travels through our whole body. It helps our digestion, our respiratory functions, our stress levels, our hormones.” The Well Music & Arts Director Bryce Kessler said. 

Kessler said the program helps build on skills like self-awareness and self-management while also introducing students to a broad range of sounds.

“We also make sure there's a wide variety of genres. So orchestral, jazz, and new world music. We commission one to two pieces by local artists every year,” Kessler said.  

Elizabeth Barger is the school counselor at Monroe Jr. High. She said that, prior to the program, a staff survey revealed anxiety was high among students. Now, they’ve seen a lot of progress. 

“What they don't realize is that they're learning a life skill, a coping skill, every single day that we practice it. The same way, every day, all year,” Barger said. 

Although there’s no recess in 8th grade, Chimeruche’s just happy she’s able to reset. 

“It just made me a bit happier than I was before. I know that everything's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine,” she said. 

Mindful Music Moments' 2023-2024 teacher survey revealed that the program is used in more than 32% of classrooms school-wide and is implemented more than four times a week. 

The program costs $1 per students with scholarship opportunities available thanks to local donors, partners and more.