Deer Lakes provides alternative gym class to emphasize mental well-being

Lauren Hedderman believes that to do well, people must feel well, and that’s exactly what her “Mental Toughness” class at Deer Lakes High School aims to accomplish.

“Students seem to love it. I think it’s a break within their day to focus on themselves,” Hedderman said.

The course started at Deer Lakes in 2020. Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden said Hedderman pitched the idea for the class while she was being interviewed for a job in the district.

“We wanted to do something that would be different and be helpful at the same time,” Logue-Belden said.

The class teaches students practical strategies to support their mental well-being. Lessons include stress and time management, anxiety and meditation exercises, communication skills and goal setting.

It is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors and is worth half a credit toward graduation. One student described it as a “glorified health class,” Hedderman said.

“I decided to roll with it,” she said. “Stress is something we wish would go away, but that’s not the case.”

No answers in the class are “wrong,” she said, as stress relieving techniques are different for everybody. When the class is over, she hopes students remember the lessons learned and apply them to their everyday lives, however that may be.

“It’s, ‘What can they apply to their lives after they leave Deer Lakes High School?’ ” Hedderman said.

Logue-Belden said the class has been very successful and fills a need. About 50 students are enrolled in the class this year. The reaction from students after completing the class has been positive, and students in the class bond with each other.

“I think it creates empathy for others,” Logue-Belden said.

Senior Deirdre Clements took the class last year at the recommendation of some of her friends. Lessons she remembered were bonding exercises with her peers and learning about mental disorders. She also recalled students took personality quizzes to learn more about themselves.

“It was a very engaging topic, and we were learning about ourselves, the traits that we have and what we can do to help each other,” Clements said.

She said she had an enjoyable experience in the class and would recommend it to her classmates.

“It’s very important that everyone is educated on these types of things,” she said.

The alternative physical education class is another effort Deer Lakes is taking as part of its involvement in the Western Pennsylvania Learning 2025 Alliance, as part of Pittsburgh-based Remake Learning. Tyler Samstag, the program’s director, said the alliance is a regional cohort of 34 school districts that work with each other to create innovative learning experiences, like the “Mental Toughness” course.

Remake Learning’s Tugboat grant helped Deer Lakes with its “Mental Toughness” course, he said. Other things Deer Lakes is doing include community listening meetings, administrators visiting other schools and primary students interacting across grade levels to make connections and build relationships.

“They really did an incredible job at establishing a vision,” Samstag said. “They took the concept of a P.E. class and reimagined what that looks like.”

Deer Lakes also established its “Portrait of a Graduate,” a vision of qualities students should possess upon their graduation from the district.