Ready or Not, Back to School Here We Come!

by Anne-Overton Earwood and Martha Burke

So much has changed over the last few months, and it can all feel a bit overwhelming! With COVID-19 spreading throughout the country in March, schools moved to online classes virtually overnight, and kids quickly transitioned to staying at home all day. Any hint of normalcy seems like a blur, especially with the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the Memphis area. 

With the many changes and all of the unknowns surrounding the upcoming school year, it is normal for us and for our children to experience overwhelming feelings such as fear, anxiety, stress, frustration, anger, and sadness.  

With this in mind, Kardia Collective is hosting Gearing Up for Back to School.  This is a 4-week online group for rising 9th-12th grade girls providing a safe place to join in community and accomplish three things:

  1. Group participants will process their personal quarantine/COVID-19 experience. Girls will have the opportunity to share their stories and hear from their peers. This experience will help to foster feelings of community and confidence, and help them to know they are not alone. 

  2. Girls will develop specific ways of coping with emotions. Our emotions can feel overwhelming and complicated. Having a safe space to learn about emotions and develop ways to handle them will bolster their self-awareness and feelings of self-worth during the transition back to school. 

  3. Girls will be equipped with tools on how to handle stress. Not only have high schoolers had to navigate the quarantine and learn to accomplish school at home, but they will continue to navigate through another shift in August when school starts with all of the safety precautions. Girls will learn healthy ways we can respond to these feelings of stress.


Group participants will begin the school year with tools and skills that will allow them to succeed and feel better about themselves as they transition back to school and move toward the future.  They will gain a supportive, safe network of other girls who are walking along a similar path. 

This specialized group is designed for a maximum of 10 participants, so grab your spot fast.  Sign up by July 19th and e-mail Anne-Overton with any questions.