Practicing Presence: Guided Meditation for Teachers and School Staff, @WEST

Have you felt like the school year is already speeding by? Maybe you’ve caught yourself saying, “I can’t believe summer is over already!” or “How is it late-August already?” or “This semester is flying!”

Many educators know that feeling—moving from lesson plans to grading to meetings, constantly getting things done but rarely feeling fully present. It’s easy to rush through the days only to realize later that the moments that bring purpose, meaning, and joy were missed along the way.

Teachers can feel the pull to be “on” all the time—pouring energy into students at school, then shifting gears for family at home, while also making time for their own humanity, too. Mindfulness meditation offers a powerful tool to show up more fully in all three spaces: work, home, and one’s own inner life.

When practiced regularly, mindfulness helps time feel like it moves at the right speed. It grounds us, connects us, and allows us to notice the small, good moments while listening more deeply to the challenging ones.

That’s the heart of Practicing Presence: Learn to Meditate—an on-campus guided meditation circle created especially for teachers and school staff.

Participants will learn simple, teacher-friendly techniques that can be practiced anywhere: before the first bell, during a prep period, winding down after a long day, or even while sitting at the dinner table with family. The session also integrates gentle reflective writing to deepen the practice and make mindfulness feel approachable and restorative.

Educators will leave feeling a little more grounded, a little more at ease, and a lot more connected to themselves—ready to carry that presence into both their classrooms and their homes.

This event will be hosted on-campus at Belleville East High School to make it more accessible for teachers and staff, but educators from any district are welcome to join in person or via Zoom.

Sarah Bland is a certified meditation teacher and educator with over a decade of classroom experience. She brings advanced training in writing instruction and a passion for combining mindfulness with reflective writing in ways that feel restorative and accessible for teachers.

As both a teacher and a parent, Sarah understands the pressures of always being “on” and the challenges of balancing classroom responsibilities with personal life. Through her workshops, she creates supportive spaces where educators can pause, ground themselves, and reconnect with their own voices. Her work is dedicated to helping teachers bring more presence, balance, and joy into their professional and personal lives.

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