wellness
New York City Schools Add Mindfulness to 120+ Buildings Since September
New York City public schools have added structured mindfulness sessions to daily schedules in more than 120 buildings since September 2025.
How we reported this
More than 120 New York City public schools introduced short daily mindfulness exercises this academic year, with sessions now running in classrooms from Tribeca to the Upper West Side.
Student mental health visits to school counselors rose 22 percent between 2023 and 2025, according to Department of Education figures released last month. District leaders responded by expanding breathing and attention practices already tested in pilot classrooms rather than adding new staff or outside referrals.
Classroom routines on specific blocks
At P.S. 234 on Chambers Street, teachers pause lessons at 9:15 a.m. for three minutes of guided breathing using scripts supplied by the district. Students in grades three through five track their own attention with simple wrist counters before returning to reading. Two miles north, P.S. 41 on Greenwich Avenue runs a Tuesday after-school group that meets in the auditorium and draws from the same district materials while adding light movement drawn from yoga postures.
The Contemplative Sciences Center at NYU supplies volunteer trainers who visit both schools once a month to refresh teacher techniques. Instructors arrive by subway to the Chambers Street and Christopher Street stations and work inside existing classrooms rather than pulling students out.
Numbers and access points
A March 2026 internal Department of Education memo recorded a 15 percent drop in office discipline referrals at the 48 schools that began the program in fall 2025. Each participating classroom received a one-time kit of printed cards and a timer at a cost of $47 per room. The department plans to open registration for the next training cohort on its website on August 15, with priority given to schools within two blocks of protected bike lanes that already host after-school activities.
Parents who want to see the sessions can ask their child’s teacher for the weekly schedule or visit the wellness section of the Department of Education site for a list of schools currently using the materials. Families living near Central Park can also check with the 92nd Street Y, which offers free Saturday workshops for adults who want to practice the same techniques at home.