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 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 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.
Project Goal: Reduce the average precieved stress metric across out school community from 22 (moderate stress) to 17 (moderate/low stress).
Project Goal: Reduce the average precieved stress metric across out 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 creating a way to make the students comfortable and more familiar with each other. I needed to be my leader by making all of the ideas taking charge of making ideas and how to reach them. Once I got my project working I had to make sure everything was running smoothly by checking in with each group and the first run of the project was a complete success.
I was responsible for creating a way to make the students comfortable and more familiar with each other. I needed to be my leader by making all of the ideas taking charge of making ideas and how to reach them. Once I got my project working I had to make sure everything was running smoothly by checking in with each group and the first run of the project was a complete success.
Preparing the Project
Preparing the Project
To bring this goal to fruition, I had to work hard to come up with a schedule that would work for all students. Once I came up with the day I had to make the amount of time they would spend together and how many days. I ended up settling on every Thursday for 20 minutes at lunchtime this time was made based on the idea that all students should be at the main campus. I made cards to start a conversation with each other in case they could not come up with ideas by themself. I assigned the groups based on who they don't hang out with and that's how I put them together forcing each person to talk with people they don't usually speak to. After the first round, I saw the was a 100% success rate everyone I talked to seemed to enjoy the project.
To bring this goal to fruition, I had to work hard to come up with a schedule that would work for all students. Once I came up with the day I had to make the amount of time they would spend together and how many days. I ended up settling on every Thursday for 20 minutes at lunchtime this time was made based on the idea that all students should be at the main campus. I made cards to start a conversation with each other in case they could not come up with ideas by themself. I assigned the groups based on who they don't hang out with and that's how I put them together forcing each person to talk with people they don't usually speak to. After the first round, I saw the was a 100% success rate everyone I talked to seemed to enjoy the project.
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:
"I could stay in the groups all of lunch."
"This project works well for the beginning of the year for new students to get to know each other."
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 confident communicator. I had to discuss and negotiate the budget, which was difficult at first because I felt nervous. However, over time, I realized that I could communicate effectively with others. When I spoke professionally, it became much easier to express my thoughts clearly and stay focused. This helped me build confidence and keep moving the project forward.
I also developed as a creative problem solver, which was an essential part of my project since unexpected challenges often came up. For example, when one or more people were absent or chose not to participate, it was up to me to reorganize the group in a way that kept things fair and made sure everyone was included. This was just one of many issues I faced, but I kept finding solutions and adapting until the project reached a place I could truly be proud of.
Finally, I had to demonstrate being a resilient individual throughout my project. This was not an easy task; many difficult challenges came up that made me feel like giving up. One example was when a group of students broke the rules and formed their group, which disrupted the entire grouping system. Even though I was frustrated, I stayed calm, remained resilient, and reached out to my amazing principal for support. Together, we found a solution and kept the project moving forward.
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