It's another busy morning in sixth grade science class at George Washington Middle in Alexandria. The fast-paced environment requires focus and attention.
"When I got to middle school it was kind of chaotic and there were a lot of people and there was more work," said Amaya Kim-Senior.
To help students like Kim-Senior cope, teacher Elkin Rodriguez shares a practice that he uses in his personal time to center himself: meditation.
"Try to calm down the way you are breathing," Rodriguez told his students.
"We start the class five minutes at the beginning with meditation; mindfulness meditation. We try to get kids to cool down and be ready to learn," he said.
"Sometimes I was just having trouble focusing on work and meditation helped me do that," said Kim-Senior.
11-year-old Estefany Ordonez Flores told ABC7News, "[It] relieves my stress and makes me more focused on my work."
According to Rodriguez, with just five minutes of daily meditation students are more focused, behave better, and have greater self-esteem.
"They pay attention for a little longer, they seem a little calmer, they're kinder," he said.
When it comes to student growth there's another change that's having an impact: a cellphone ban implemented at the start of the school year.
"I think it makes kids more engaged and it helps them learn more and focus on being present in the class," said Kim-Senior.
Rodriguez hopes to eventually see meditation used in every classroom at George Washington Middle.