Patricia Jennings, PhD, is a professor of Education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. An internationally recognized leader in the fields of social and emotional learning and mindfulness in education, Jennings led the teams that developed and studied “CARE for Teachers,” a mindfulness-based professional development program shown to significantly improve teacher well-being, classroom interactions, and student engagement in a federally funded study.
Jennings is the principal author of the Compassionate Schools Project curriculum, a health and physical education curriculum for elementary students that integrates social and emotional learning, mindful awareness, compassion practices, mindful movement, and healthy eating skills. She is also the co-principal investigator of a large, randomized, controlled trial to examine the curriculum’s efficacy in promoting positive youth outcomes. Jennings is author of “Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom.”