How to Fix a Broken High Schooler, in Four Easy Steps

Mindfulness and programs, such as Math Guru, designed to address student's anxiety are being implemented in several areas as a way of combatting anxiety and helping students talk through their fears so that it doesn't impede their performance or develop into a more severe issue. Particularly, in places where anxiety and mental illness is high, these areas are looking into the benefits of student mindfulness training.

In Iceland,the relationship between people and the state has allowed an effective national programme to reduce teen consumption of alcohol and drugs. The program identifies youth that are likely to abuse drugs and offers them physically challenging after-school activities that can reduce anxiety or provide a rush, such as dance classes and martial arts, along with curfews and parent education.

The Future Project aims to give students the resources needed to define and fulfill their dreams and re-engage students in school. Dream Directors get teens motivated to act on their ideas and expand their abilities.

Minnesota schools began a comprehensive program aimed at assisting children of minority groups to successfully navigate the college application process and push them towards higher education.

Operation Fresh Start is tackling workforce barriers faced by economically disadvantaged young adults through its Legacy program, which combines classroom instruction with hands-on construction and conservation work. Participants receive individualized learning plans, financial stipends and wraparound support to help them stay on track. In 2024, the program helped 36 young adults earn high school diplomas, 32 earn pre-apprenticeship certifications and reported an average three grade-level increase in reading and math among participants.

A high school program in Utah is combating increasing rates of teenage suicide by equipping children with the tools they need to manage thoughts of hopelessness. The program is known as ME (Mood Enhancement) Time and aims to provide youth with tools to learn the connection between their thoughts, actions, and feelings in order to be aware of what they can control to counter sadness and hopelessness. Students meet in counseling groups of 6-8 students for six sessions and discuss tools such as physical activity, keeping a mood journal to become more self-aware, and volunteering to alleviate depressive symptoms

High school graduation rates, especially for Black and Hispanic students, are alarmingly low, which led North High School in Minneapolis to rebuild the school model and foster a dramatic increase in the number of students graduating. Through daily advisory periods with teachers, a community of peer support, close contact between teachers and parents, and outside guidance, the school has seen overwhelming improvement.

Taos High School has recently lost a couple of students and a recent graduate, all of whom committed suicide. The school has developed an Emotional Intelligence Retreat for its ninth graders as an opportunity to form deeper connections and build their own emotional understanding, in order to help them cope with hardships.

To mitigate the pernicious effects of poverty on student success, nonprofit 'Blocks of Hope' in Colorado aims to provide both educational and social services to students and their families, with the goal of leveling the playing field.

Thanks to new private and public funding, school completion programs in Seattle, which enable distressed youth to achieve high school equivalency degrees, can now expand.