By Wendy Greenberg

Teacher Stefanie Lachenauer has seen how the incorporation of mindfulness skills in the classroom has benefited her middle school students. So about 10 years ago, she knew she wanted to put that knowledge into a book to reach more teens — and give them a guide.

Along the way, however, Lachenauer was designated Teacher of the Year at Montgomery (Township) Upper Middle School in Skillman, where she teaches; then she was recognized as Somerset County Teacher of the Year; and then, during a surprise school spirit assembly in the fall of 2024, she was named the 2024-2025 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, all of which required some time writing essays and applications, and delayed the book.

The book, Let the Glitter Settle: Mindfulness for Teens, finally came out this past fall, (available on Amazon, published by Glow & Grow Press). Lachenauer, who is certified in mindfulness and is a trauma-informed resilience trainer,  offers teens accessible practices that help them pause, reset, and regain control when emotions feel overwhelming. She is also a certified yoga instructor.

She uses the analogy of a jar of glitter, that, when shaken, sends glitter everywhere in the jar. It’s hard to see clearly, and make good choices, she explains on a video, but practicing mindfulness allows the “glitter” to settle.

Lachenauer, who teaches seventh and eighth graders Global Leadership, and Skills for Success, earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology at Douglass College at Rutgers University and later her master’s degree in elementary education with a specialization in middle school social studies from Rutgers Graduate School of Education. According to the New Jersey State Education website, “for over 18 years, she has been a guiding force within the Montgomery Township School District, pioneering innovative curricula and courses,” and has made an impact “by empowering her students to create change and to take care of themselves,” while her courses foster “a generation of socially conscious learners.”

Her students, the state writeup continues, “connect to a variety of local community efforts, and she supports them in creating change after exploring the UN Global Goals for Sustainability….  In 2022, she presented at the Global Leadership Summit on sports and wellness in Berlin, Germany.

“Her Skills for Success course is curated to support different social and emotional learning and executive functioning skills so that each lesson her students receive is personalized to them and something that they can bring into their lives right now and into the future.” 

“I’ve been teaching mindfulness for a long time,” she said in a phone interview. “I wanted to reach as many more teens as possible.”

The book will help teens “learn to regulate emotions when everything feels like ‘too much’; try easy practices that support breathing, focus, and staying present; explore what works for them personally, and confidently set aside what doesn’t; and understand their emotions without shame, confusion, or judgement,” notes the publisher.

The benefits of mindfulness among middle schoolers doesn’t always make an immediate impact. “We don’t always know when we are making a difference,” she said. “Whether mindfulness is working is not something you can see in the exact moment. It’s a gradual build-up.”

Middle school is a time when emotions can overwhelm young teens.  “It was a difficult time period for me, and the students of today are under even greater stress,” said Lachenauer. “I wanted to support them. Middle school can be magical, there is so much growth and transition, but there is a lot of anxiety as well.”

Sometimes, she said, she has met with student resistance to routine practicing. “But if I skipped a day, or decreased the time allotted, students complain. It’s fun and surprising in how it lands for them.”

The practice of mindfulness is the “awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings, according to the American Psychological Association, and is used “to help people avoid destructive or automatic habits and responses by learning to observe their thoughts, emotions, and other present-moment experiences without judging or reacting to them.”

Lachenauer, a Lawrence Township resident, said she always knew she wanted to become a teacher because her “oma” (grandmom in German) had a farm and was not able to complete a high school education. When she moved to the U.S., however, not only did “Oma” earn her Graduate Equivalent Degree (GED), but did so in a language that was not her first. “She instilled in me the importance of education,” said Lachenauer.

Lachenauer hopes her book is a teen-friendly roadmap to grounding, breathing, focus, and emotional understanding.

“We all have mental health and it needs to be taken care of, like our physical health. Mindfulness is one way, and one way of being.”

More information can be found at stefanielachenauer.com.