As we open the doors to a new school year, I’m reminded that education should be more than preparing for tests. It should be about preparing for life. Through the African American Culture and Contemporary Issues (AACCI) class at William Fleming High School, we are doing something different, something deeply needed.
This year, we launch Living Mindfully, Leading Mindfully, a first-of-its-kind mindfulness certification program for high school students in Roanoke City. This isn’t just a class, it’s a healing-centered movement rooted in culture, reflection, wellness, and empowerment.
Our students won’t just learn about mindfulness, they’ll learn how to live it. How to lead it. How to teach it. Each student will train as a certified mindfulness practitioner, gaining the tools to transform their own lives and impact their families, schools, and communities.
We explore themes like emotional regulation, ancestral grounding, food as medicine, self-love, and the wisdom of nature. Students breathe. They journal. They breathe and are mindful. They move their bodies. They learn to speak from the heart. And most importantly, they learn how to listen to themselves, to each other, and to the world around them.
Why is this important? Because our youth are under pressure. They’re over stimulated, under-supported, and often left to figure it out on their own. But what if we raised a new generation of mindful leaders young people equipped not just to survive, but to heal? What if students graduated not only with academic knowledge but with tools to manage stress, build peace, and pass that peace on?
That’s the vision. And it’s deeply personal.
As a father, Sangoma (Traditional healer), educator, and youth advocate, I’ve seen the effects of trauma, and I’ve seen the power of restoration. This program is my offering to the community, to our youth, and to the ancestors who paved the way.
Roanoke has never seen anything like this before and maybe, neither has the nation. But we’re not waiting for permission to innovate. We’re planting the seeds of wellness now. In the classroom. In the culture. In the hearts of every student who walks through our doors.
Because the only way out… is in.
