meeting the bar expected of a sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, whatever grader, they're being asked to meet that behavioral and developmental bar and that academic bar and they've missed out on both. it is hard to meet the academic one when you are still trying to figure out how do i stop being a fourth grader? >> reporter: it is 1:45 p.m. on a thursday. hi. >> hi. >> reporter: i'm evan. cnn. nice to see you. >> hi. >> reporter: what usually goes on in this room? >> so i teach language arts and english language development but we also do advisory. today we're going to do some gratitude and some goal setting for academics but also do mindfulness. we are one of the only schools that has somebody that does yoga and plans mindfulness for us. >> reporter: we're going to do some breathing and then a little meditation or visualization. let your breath soften. that connection with their peers which they've been missing so