Brett Potash · Head of School
At Maharishi School, we notice the ever-quickening pace of life and have chosen, instead, to find strength in slowing down. Like other schools, we ask students to think deeply. Unlike other schools, we make space for them to breathe deeply — because calm leads to clarity. And as students face mounting pressure to stand out, we find real value in belonging to something bigger.
It starts with a deceptively simple skill: attention. The ability to bring our full presence to a person, a problem, a place may be the central challenge of our time — and in an age when attention is constantly manipulated and monetized, the capacity to direct it willfully is one of the most valuable things a school can develop. By grounding our students in a daily practice of Transcendental Meditation, we help them do exactly that.
Twenty-five years in education have taught me that the best schools aren’t the ones with the highest test scores or the largest endowment. They’re the ones that march boldly toward a clear, singular mission. Ours is Consciousness-Based Education — and we live it every day, in our practice of meditation and yoga and in our Consciousness, Connections, and Life Skills class.
That focus translates into real accomplishment: our students have been named the most successful high school at the Iowa State Science and Technology Fair, earned a place among the few schools nationwide selected for NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge, qualified for state tennis, and earned National Merit recognition. Our model lets students bring their full potential to a problem and find creative solutions.
I’ll leave you with one story. When my family first visited, we spent three days meeting students, faculty, parents, and board members. At the end of it — a process that can be exhausting — my wife turned to me and said, “I feel like we just got a big hug.” That’s the school. Come feel it for yourself.
— Brett Potash, Head of School