A wellness-centered microschool opened Aug. 19 inside the Blue Ash YMCA, offering kindergarten through eighth-grade students a school day built around breathwork, mindfulness and self-regulation.

The Resonance Lab was founded by Jessica Steele, a former high school principal who serves as the school's chief resonance officer, according to a first-person piece Steele published in Cincy Magazine on Sept. 24. The school launched with a single mixed-age pod spanning kindergarten through seventh grade, taught by Steele and director Kelly Rozelle.

Each morning begins with what the school calls a Morning Resonance Ritual, a blend of music and mindfulness where students check in with one another before lessons start. Breathwork, movement and self-regulation exercises run through the rest of the day.

"Kids are humans first and students second," Steele wrote in the Cincy Magazine piece. "When you actually design a day around that, you get children who are curious, regulated and genuinely excited to learn."

The curriculum rotates through four year-long themes: Identity, Perspective, Power and Impact. Students explore the same theme at different levels of depth, and Ohio academic standards are embedded throughout. Each student compiles work into a Leadership Portfolio to track growth over time.

The school partners with three outside organizations: The Well, a nonprofit also known as A Mindful Moment that focuses on mindfulness and arts integration; the Wyoming Fine Arts Center for music and arts instruction; and Therapy Works to support students who learn differently. Students also use the YMCA's gym, trails and splash pad during the school week.

The Resonance Lab held a ribbon-cutting Aug. 11 that drew families and community partners, Steele wrote. A founding student cut the ribbon on the first classroom. Cincinnati Reds mascots Mr. Redlegs and Rosie Red attended, meditating alongside guests during a sound bath.

A tornado warning did not stop the event.

The Blue Ash Chamber of Commerce lists The Resonance Lab as a chamber member. Microschools have grown nationally since the pandemic. An estimated 750,000 to 2 million students now attend them, the Hechinger Report reported in March. The median private microschool enrolls 20 students, according to a 2026 analysis by The 74.

The Resonance Lab's website lists enrollment as open for grades K through 8 for the 2026–2027 school year with limited spots. The school also offers Spark, a two-day hybrid program on Tuesdays and Thursdays for K–12 homeschool and flexible-schedule families.