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The overall wellness and well-being of today’s youth are of concern owing to high levels of stress, as well as other mental and physical health issues.  Academic success can be negatively impacted because of the interconnectivity of these issues, along with traumatic childhood experiences and high numbers of adverse childhood experiences. In rural areas, these issues can be even more pronounced owing to issues related to socioeconomic status and high rates of poverty. Therefore, it is important to explore interventions in the educational setting that could mitigate the negative impact of these challenges. This pilot study examined the relationship between a trauma-informed approach incorporating yoga/mindfulness and academic, social, and emotional behaviors among fourth graders in a rural academic setting. Student and teacher pre- and postintervention survey data indicate the intervention had academic, social, and emotional benefits.

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Given the prevalence of childhood trauma in rural Montana, this project is intended to help mitigate stressors that may contribute to poor behavioral and mental health in high school-aged children, which may be exacerbated by the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate goal was to measure physical and mental health outcomes in adolescents resulting from a remotely delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention designed to foster positive youth development. Our study builds on the successes from an initial feasibility pilot study one year prior in order to evaluate a more robust intervention comparing experimental and control group outcomes. Students at a small, rural high school in Montana volunteered to participate in a 6-week, twice-weekly trauma-informed yoga intervention in their physical education class. Validated survey measures, including the PHQ-A, GAD-7, and ACE-Q instruments, were utilized to measure mental health outcomes pre- vs. post-intervention. Salivary cortisol levels were also measured pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Statistically significant declines in cortisol levels and improvements in sleep duration were noted when comparing experimental vs. control groups. Noteworthy declines in depression and anxiety levels were also seen when comparing the treatment to control groups. Descriptive differences between the control and experimental groups illustrate the mental health benefits of reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms in rural adolescents resulting from a remotely delivered trauma-informed yoga intervention. Our study holds the potential for a long-term public health impact in reducing adolescent rates of anxiety and depression while mitigating trauma in geographically isolated settings. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04664855.

North Carolina Agricultural &Technical State University (NCAT) has established an electronic mentoring program to enhance student retention in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). AggiEmentor is free service which pairs an undergraduate student with an A&T alumnus of similar background. The program's impact on improving retention is assessed using student surveys, and enrollment data. MentorNet is used to facility to the student and alumni matching. The current paper summarizes the program implementation, recruitment strategy, demographic information, and the results of a survey administered at the end of the first semester.