Effort Launched To Ease Austin Kids' Back-To-School Stress

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A new initiative dubbed "Life's Good: Experience Happiness" is equipping 4,000 students in the Austin Independent School District with the skills needed to reduce high stress and anxiety levels and to create sustainable happiness, officials said Monday.

Already, according to officials, principals and teachers report seeing positive results from the initiative. The program has kicked off at Gus Garcia Young Men's Leadership Academy, Bedichek Middle School, Harris Elementary, Mendez Middle School, Wooldridge Elementary, Brooke Elementary, Sadler Means Young Women's Leadership Academy, Lanier High School, Anderson High School, Murchison Middle School, Pillow Elementary, Sunset Valley Elementary, Volma Overton Early College Prep, Oak Hill Elementary, Travis Early College High School, LBJ Early College High School, Widen Elementary, Small Middle School, Becker Elementary and Odom Elementary.

To address "back to school stress" most students face, LG Electronics USA partnered with leaders in the science of happiness – the University of California Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, Inner Explorer, Discovery Education and Project Happiness to develop this unique platform, officials explained.
The goal is to reach 5.5 million students over the course of five years with a set of tools to help them in school and everyday life, the six Sustainable Happiness Skills. Rooted in the science of happiness these skills are: mindfulness, human connection, positive outlook, purpose, generosity and gratitude, officials said in a press advisory.

For 20 schools in the Austin Independent school district, LG provides access to the Inner Explorer program through its Life’s Good: Experience Happiness platform, giving access to every teacher, student and parent. LG is expanding access to Inner Explorer to another 220 schools across the country this year, officials said.
The Inner Explorer program supported by LG includes a series of daily five to 10 minute audio-guided mindfulness practices.

"The LG Experience Happiness mission is designed to bring science- and research-based Sustainable Happiness Skills to students to help them cope with ever-increasing levels of stress," Mike Pepperman, LG's corporate social responsibility manager, said. "Anxiety levels are rising in this ever-changing world, and the ability for these kids to start the day in a calm way, ready to learn, will impact their grades, their path to success and their overall social emotional well-being."

Practicing Sustainable Happiness Skills through Inner Explorer has shown notable benefits. According to three research studies by Inner Explorer, involving more than 900 students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds the program has been shown to deliver 28 percent higher grades, a 60 percent reduction in disciplinary actions and teachers reported a 43 percent reduction in stress levels.

About Life's Good: Experience Happiness

Life's Good: Experience Happiness" is focused on extending the reach of partner organizations that bring science-based tools for sustainable happiness to youth in the United States. Drawing on research from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, an organization dedicated to providing science-based insights for a more meaningful life, the LG Experience Happiness platform will provide resources focused on the six skills key to Sustainable Happiness: mindfulness, human connection, positive outlook, purpose, generosity and gratitude. LG Electronics USA - the "Life's Good" home appliance, mobile communications and consumer electronics company - is leading this initiative, with a goal of reaching 5.5 million youth over five years.
To learn more about "Life's Good: Experience Happiness," please visit the website.

Get Patch's Daily Newsletters and Real Time Alerts

>>> Image via Shutterstock