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
Background Research
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 17 (moderate/low stress).
Project Goal: Reduce the average perceived stress metric across our school community from 22 (moderate stress) to 17 (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 a project that included increasing physical activity both in and out of class. 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 a project that included increasing physical activity both in and out of class. 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
To get this project ready for action, I had to first figure out which activities interested people the most. To do this, I created a survey to discover what the students and staff might enjoy participating in. Once I had the results, I created my budget to plan out the total costs of all the games and equipment necessary.
To get this project ready for action, I had to first figure out which activities interested people the most. To do this, I created a survey to discover what the students and staff might enjoy participating in. Once I had the results, I created my budget to plan out the total costs of all the games and equipment necessary.
Launching the Project
Launching the Project
To get people interested in my project, I had to pick activities that everyone would find interesting.
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 Tuesday activities provide a wonderful opportunity for students to engage with each other." -Baxter
"I love the activities because they help bring people together." -Georgia
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
Throughout my project, I had to take on the role of a confident communicator. I would constantly have to remind people about the activities on Tuesday so that they would show up, and that took a bit of courage for me to do. At first, I didn’t want to remind anyone because I was afraid that I would just annoy people. However, people genuinely enjoyed participating in the activities. I also had to create a budget for all the materials and pitch it. It was the first time I had ever done anything like that, but experiences like that have really helped me grow into a confident communicator.
I also had to exemplify what it means to be a creative problem solver. I needed to find out what activities people would actually enjoy participating in, so I created a form to ask people. Then, I had to carefully budget to make sure I was still getting what everyone wanted while staying under budget.
Lastly, in the process of this project, I had to be a resilient individual. Keeping yourself and others active is incredibly important, and it’s partly what I aimed towards with this project. I wanted to give more opportunities for people to get up and move around while still having fun. Physical activity is important because it not only keeps you healthy, but it also improves your mental well-being as well.
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