USC Center EDGE Awardees of the Education Solutions Exchange. Winning entries, chosen in part for their simplicity and ability to immediately impact students’ needs, include:
Mental Health Check In: A simple, low-cost, easily implementable system for students to communicate their emotional wellbeing and give teachers insight into how the class is feeling overall, and in particular to students who may need extra support.
The 3 M’s: Media, Middle School, Mindfulness: A curriculum that teaches students to become more discerning with information seen on the internet, and to determine if it’s coming from a trustworthy source, which is especially critical in light of the disinformation surrounding the pandemic and vaccines.
Core Values in the Community: A program designed to reward students who demonstrate the values of Gratitude, Responsibility, Integrity, and Tenacity, and are given “GRITcoin” that can later be spent on things like raffles and pop-up shops at their schools. The program recognizes that students are anxious about returning to school, and yet they can be inspired to turn those feelings into something positive.
A Trusted Space: a free, cutting-edge, research-based film and curriculum for educators on how to help mitigate the effects of the grief, trauma, anxiety, and other emotional stressors that so many students are facing.