Improving Stress Management throughout the SA Upper School
Improving Stress Management throughout the SA Upper School
Embedded Files
The Class
The Class
I took a course titled Community Immersion in which I studied the for-profit, non-profit, and government sectors of my local community through the lens of systems thinking. Throughout the class, we met many different people who play important roles in the community. Many of them related to the health and well being of citizens, which influenced my project.
I took a course titled Community Immersion in which I studied the for-profit, non-profit, and government sectors of my local community through the lens of systems thinking. Throughout the class, we met many different people who play important roles in the community. Many of them related to the health and well being of citizens, which influenced my project.
Background Research
Stress Management Panels
Stress Management Panels
Youth Empowerment Team
Youth Empowerment Team
Our class hosted a panel of mental health and student support professionals from around our community to learn about the root causes of stress and best practices for stress management. We also collaborated with the Youth Empowerment Team with support from the Rowan County Youth Services Bureau, Rowan County Public Health Department, and the Center for Prevention Services to develop our ideas.
Our class hosted a panel of mental health and student support professionals from around our community to learn about the root causes of stress and best practices for stress management. We also collaborated with the Youth Empowerment Team with support from the Rowan County Youth Services Bureau, Rowan County Public Health Department, and the Center for Prevention Services to develop our ideas.
percieved stress scale.pdfBenchmarking
Benchmarking
Our class decided that, with systems thinking, we could improve the stress management of our school community. We benchmarked our school community's stress level using the The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which has been a commonly used stress assessment for over 40 years.
Our class decided that, with systems thinking, we could improve the stress management of our school community. We benchmarked our school community's stress level using the The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which has been a commonly used stress assessment for over 40 years.
We created a vision statement and project goal
We created a vision statement and project goal
Vision Statement: The students of Salisbury Academy Community Immersion class envision a school environment where students can embrace learning and manage the stress that may accompany new and challenging learning scenarios in a healthy and productive way. Guided by systems thinking and a culture of problem solving we will create systems to support healthy and holistic stress management approaches for all of our school community members.
Vision Statement: The students of Salisbury Academy Community Immersion class envision a school environment where students can embrace learning and manage the stress that may accompany new and challenging learning scenarios in a healthy and productive way. Guided by systems thinking and a culture of problem solving we will create systems to support healthy and holistic stress management approaches for all of our school community members.
Project Goal: Reduce the average perceived stress metric across our school community from 22 (moderate stress) to 15 (moderate/low stress).
Project Goal: Reduce the average perceived stress metric across our school community from 22 (moderate stress) to 15 (moderate/low stress).
We determined who our stakeholders were. We then surveyed them to determine their commitment and interest in our possible projects. We also analyzed the projects by cost and feasibility to determine the most viable options.
We determined who our stakeholders were. We then surveyed them to determine their commitment and interest in our possible projects. We also analyzed the projects by cost and feasibility to determine the most viable options.
My Leadership Role
My Leadership Role
I was responsible for the project that included putting solar panels on the roof of the building. I started by mapping out all the steps of the project, estimating how long each step might take, and ordering the steps to ensure I completed the project on time. The result was a Gantt chart I could follow throughout the project.
I was responsible for the project that included putting solar panels on the roof of the building. I started by mapping out all the steps of the project, estimating how long each step might take, and ordering the steps to ensure I completed the project on time. The result was a Gantt chart I could follow throughout the project.
Preparing the Project
Preparing the Project
Class Help Project
Class Help Project
The first thing I needed to start this project was a thinking mindset. So I started thinking about ideas on how I could improve our community and lower stress, I pondered up some pretty good ideas like recorded lectures, and homework reminders so students don't have any surprises when their work is due. I wanted student opinions on this matter so I made a survey with the purpose of giving me data on what ideas would help students with their homework assignments. So then I took all of the positive data that was given to me through my survey then I began taking action, hanging up a whiteboard, and writing an instructional document showing teachers how to post lectures to Google Classroom from a Chromebook provided by our school
The first thing I needed to start this project was a thinking mindset. So I started thinking about ideas on how I could improve our community and lower stress, I pondered up some pretty good ideas like recorded lectures, and homework reminders so students don't have any surprises when their work is due. I wanted student opinions on this matter so I made a survey with the purpose of giving me data on what ideas would help students with their homework assignments. So then I took all of the positive data that was given to me through my survey then I began taking action, hanging up a whiteboard, and writing an instructional document showing teachers how to post lectures to Google Classroom from a Chromebook provided by our school
Launching the Project
Launching the Project
I had to use lots of rhetoric to convince the teachers to use the whiteboard and record lectures. I was very persistent in my efforts, and eventually, the teachers began using the whiteboard and occasionally recorded lectures.
I had to use lots of rhetoric to convince the teachers to use the whiteboard and record lectures. I was very persistent in my efforts, and eventually, the teachers began using the whiteboard and occasionally recorded lectures.
The Final Outcome
The Final Outcome
Our class goal was to reduce our school's average score of perceived stress from the original 22 to 17. Over the course of 8 months, through the combined implementation of our projects we saw a decrease from 22 to 16.6 on the Perceived Stress Scale. The range of 14 to 26 is considered moderate stress. Our initial goal was to reach 17 on the scale. It was extremely satisfying to see the results of our projects pay both in terms of quantitative and qualitative data.
Here are some quotes from students who participated directly in my project:
"The solar panels are a great addition to our school" John Doe
"I appreciate being a Green School and seeing the Upper School lead the way in community use of solar power." Jane Doe
Sharing What We Learned
Sharing What We Learned
At the end of the year, my community class had the opportunity to travel to Washington DC to share our learning about school design to promote student mental well being with policy makers. See our presentation here.
Life Skills
Life Skills
In carrying out my project I believe I developed as a creative problem solver. callaborating with people I didn't know at salisbury academy upperschool. which made me nervous at first. However, I learned that I could communicate easily with all of these individuals through professional means and the results were extremely positive for the project. They were always more than willing to help and often gave me advice to help move the project forward.
I also had to be a motivated student in a way that was very different than in a typical class. My project wasn't something my teacher designed. Rather, I designed the process and was fully responsible for its outcomes. However, my classmates and teachers were willing to help. And at the end of the year, I had to present how our school was built for student well-being. This was a very important presentation as I had to show it to the Department of Education in Washington DC, which was very nerve-racking, but through motivation, I pushed forward.
Finally, I had to show resiliency often. As there were times when I would get ¨loaded¨ down with work, as well as times when teachers would not want to record student lectures. So I had to be patient and not lose my motivation during these times. There were times I wanted to give up, but through it all, I had to keep pushing towards my goal of lowering stress for students.
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