Denver Public Schools students learn lessons in mental health and resilience with special curriculum

Denver Public Schools are receiving a special gift. Thanks to a new grant, staff and students are learning important lessons in life. A program called "Upstream" is teaching them what you can't learn in typical schoolbooks: how to manage their mental health, strengthen resilience, and enhance their overall well-being.

One in four young people in Denver reports that school-related stress impacts their mental health, according to data from Crisis Text Line. 

Alexis Buchner knows those stressors all too well. "A big stressor is probably sports. In middle school, your grades impact whether you can be in sports a lot. I feel like that pressures a lot of students. Also, my harder classes like math or ELA."

She's a student at Lake Middle School, along with classmate West Garcia. "I'm stressed before a test," he told CBS Colorado.

That's why Buchner and Garcia are daily users of Upstream, funded by a Caring for Denver Foundation grant. Executive Director Tessa Zimmerman created the program because she experienced panic attacks in the classroom, and her teachers were often unprepared to handle them. The training program gives teachers bite-sized tools that can be implemented in under 10 minutes. These lessons don't replace mental health professionals, but rather equip educators, who are often the first line of support, with tools that benefit students and teachers alike.

"My goal is that when students leave a school that's using Upstream, they are prepared to navigate the inevitable challenges and stressors of life. Whenever they need tools to navigate a situation, they have their own tools in their own toolbox.

Those tools are simple, like implementing breathing techniques.

"I teach this to my friend whom I've known for a long time. She really has anxiety," said Buchner. "You can put it on your thigh or your desk... You put your pointer finger, breathe in, stop at the top, and breathe and out and keep doing it with your hands."

"Whenever I'm at the playground and my heart starts beating really fast, I calm myself down," added Garcia.

Lake Middle School special educator Mylee Martinez says the special curriculum also helps her to be her best self for her students. "It gives some wiggle room. I can also take a breath to reground myself, because if I'm amped up, those kids are going to sense it. They know how I'm feeling, they know my energy."

The impacts are powerful, creating ripple effects for the future. "I would say other schools should teach these to students. I better myself with the strategies that you guys are teaching," Garcia said.

Upstream is currently offered to 30 schools within Denver Public Schools. The program also features Spanish translations.