By Rebecca Baskinger
It’s still sometimes hard to accept the memory of losing my father to suicide when I was 12. He was a determined man, a teacher himself, but he was a man who suffered. He dealt with anxiety and depression for his entire life, and, at that time, I didn’t realize that he was a child who would have benefited from constant support and love.
As a teacher in Kinnelon Public Schools, I have often wondered if he had any favorite teachers. He excelled in sports, and I knew we were similar in that area. But did he know that anyone cared?
After I found out that he had passed, I put all of my energy into sports and athletics. Gymnastics was my therapy. My physical education teacher in middle school, Mrs. Sasson, was also the middle school’s gymnastics coach. She was so thoughtful and told me that if I ever needed anything that I could simply go down to her office and talk to her. She would let me practice gymnastics in the gym when it was free.
The gym was my happy place. That stuck with me for my entire life because she reached out to me and met me in an area that I was passionate about and contributed to my own personal safe haven.
My brother, George Baskinger Jr., was three years older than me, and he dealt with the loss of our father in a completely different way. I could see the anxiety and depression and the change in his demeanor. I saw how he was hard on himself, and he didn’t necessarily receive help the way that I did. I wondered if he had a safe space to go to, or if any teachers offered their time and space like Mrs. Sasson did for me. I think he had teachers reach out to him, too, but I’m not sure how willing he was to receive their support. He withdrew a lot. He assumed the role of the older brother, and I think he masked a lot of his hardships.
In 2021, I found myself at my brother’s funeral. I looked back at our lives and what could have been done to help him. The hardship of losing both my father and my brother, literally half of my family, was the motivation that I needed to create something to help students to know that they are seen and cared for.
The Mindful Moments program
I was approached by David Mango, our superintendent, and Lauren Thomas, our curriculum director, about a mindfulness project. We saw that some students needed a quiet space to “reset” and a calm and kind person to work alongside them. We wanted to find ways to help them manage their emotions in addition to the many initiatives that we already had at Kinnelon. Thomas had experience in creating Zen Dens, and I had the motivation to take the project on.
We brainstormed different ways that we could roll out the program, and the various needs in each building. It was important to me to incorporate physical education skills while getting students out into nature and having authentic conversations. Together, we came up with the Mindful Moments program.
The Mindful Moments program has allowed our district to create Chill Zones in each of the four district buildings. The program looks different in each building and is based on each need of the students.
For example, at our elementary schools, students learn about grounding, connecting with nature, breathwork, fitness activities, and various crafts and hobbies that can bring joy. We have even created a small pickleball group, where students experience the joy of moving and interacting with others. Designated spaces in the respective schools are adorned with comfortable seating, calming murals of nature, technology enhancements, cozy pillows, liquid motion bubblers, yoga mats and soothing lighting accents to offer safety and calm for the students. Many students enter the Chill Zones, and breathe a sigh of relief and calm immediately after walking in.
At the middle and high school levels, students are provided opportunities to practice personalized stress-reducing activities, such as painting birdhouses, putting puzzles together, making bracelets or creating emotionally supportive posters, which are displayed throughout the district.
The Mindful Moments program also has provided amazing opportunities for collaboration. In each of the buildings, we have had the joy of collaborating with the art teachers, and several students have created the socially and emotionally supportive posters mentioned above that help promote mindfulness and mental health support.
Students have learned to identify their Power Word, and make a poster with that word, as a reminder of their intention for the year. Grounding posters, which are posters that encourage the viewer to mindfully engage their senses in the moment, are another project they have done.
Finally, our Dear Younger Me project is one where students create a supportive poster, and also write an encouraging note to younger students in earlier grades. Students learn and buy-in by doing, so we made sure that they had an opportunity to create an authentic project that reinforced some of the calming techniques and positive thinking that we have worked on.
Securing grant funding
To help support our district’s efforts, I looked for grant opportunities to bring our vision to life.
In April 2024, I was notified that I had successfully won a $9,966 grant from the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education. Over the course of the 2024-25 school year, I have been working with administrators and staff to create a dedicated wellness space in each of our buildings to help support students’ emotional, social and physical well-being.
The Zen Den and Wellness Centers are providing areas for mindfulness, relaxation, fitness activities and a variety of stress-reducing strategies. Because each school has its own Zen Den, and because they serve different ages, we have a variety of activities that students can participate in to help them manage their emotions.
When I wrote my application for the grant and proposed the idea to the Education Committee of the Kinnelon Board of Education, I explained that even if this program reaches just one life, one student, one person, it would be worth every penny. Every life is priceless.
Winning this grant has been a dream come true. Not only am I now given the opportunity to interact with and help more students, but I have also seen how this program and this grant have contributed to enhancing my own wellness.
It’s been three years since my brother passed away. I know he would be so proud of me, and that he would love knowing the good things that I am doing in his memory. I took the hard things from my life, and I used them as motivation and passion to assist others. It was my goal to use my challenges in life to help my students thrive in their lives. My personal hardship became the impetus for wellness in others.
Every day that I go to work is a gift. I love these kids so much, and I love that I get an opportunity to encourage them and cheer for them because we are all teammates in this journey called life.
Rebecca Baskinger is a teacher in Kinnelon Public Schools. She can be reached at baskingerr@kinnelon.org.
Apply for an NJEA Hipp grant
Grants from the NJEA Frederick L. Hipp Foundation for Excellence in Education help educators bring creative ideas to life. The only foundation of its kind in New Jersey, the Hipp Foundation supports initiatives to promote excellence in education.
More than $2.6 million in grants for innovative educational projects that represent a bold, fresh approach by public school employees have already been awarded.
Apply for a Hipp grant and bring your innovative ideas to life. The portal will open July 1 and the deadline is March 1, 2026. Grants range from $500 to $10,000. Learn more at njea.org/hipp.