Kaiser Permanente Supports Antioch Students

Kaiser Permanente is partnering with the Antioch Unified School District to support the mental health and wellness of students, teachers, and staff through programs focused on resilience and mindfulness.

Kaiser Permanente is providing two grants to the school district as part of its national Thriving Schools RISE or Resilience in School Environments initiative, which addresses trauma and stress in schools and provides resources to educators and staff to support mental health and resilience.

The grants to the Antioch Unified School District include:

• $200,000 to support the district’s Wellness, Culture and Climate Team (WCC Team). This will help teachers and staff receive continuous professional development through site-level workshops, coordination of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies, and technical assistance.
• $150,000 to incorporate the Mindful Life Project (MLP) in classrooms. MLP’s mission is to empower underserved children, school families, and staff members through mindfulness to gain self-awareness, confidence, and resilience.

“Kaiser Permanente has made a tremendous impact on Antioch Unified’s progress toward increasing and sustaining social and emotional support for students and staff,” said AUSD Associate Superintendent Christine Ibarra. “We are grateful for the investment Kaiser Permanente has made in our school community, which has enabled AUSD to significantly expand and enhance its mental health resources.”

Kaiser Permanente has partnered with the Antioch Unified School District for the past four years and has supported many of the mental health and wellness programs in its schools. Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging for children who were isolated from their friends and school activities, Kaiser Permanente has remained committed to developing resources and partnerships in the community that focus on the emotional health and well-being of children.

“We recognize the difficulties the COVID-19 pandemic has had on students, teachers and staff, and we want to provide the resources and tools they need to support their emotional and mental health,” said Chris Boyd, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente’s Diablo service area. “We are proud to partner with the Antioch Unified School District as they work to create healthy school environments for students and staff.”

The Mindful Life Project grant supports the district’s commitment to mindfulness by helping K-8 schools deeply embed mindfulness and compassion practices into their school programs.

Students, teachers and support staff have benefitted from the programming, said Mindful Life Project Founder and Executive Director JG Larochette. The grant has brought the Mindful Life Project to seven elementary schools and one middle school in the Antioch Unified School District. Those eight schools serve approximately 4,500 students.

“Young people and educators are doing their very best to transition back to in-person learning, but it comes with a lot of stress and trauma,” Larochette added. “Mindfulness is key in navigating strong emotions, thoughts and mitigating the impact of stress and trauma.”