"I can do things by myself more instead of having my dad or my mom do them," says Deven Doutis. Deven's teacher, Amy Wolfe, sensed students were entering higher grades with more needs than in past years. Some couldn't open a water bottle, for instance, or navigate minor conflicts with their peers. So when Ms. Wolfe heard about a program called Let Grow, she decided to pilot it within select classrooms. The program's premise is simple: When children gain independence, they grow into more confident and capable people. In a commentary piece published by The Journal of Pediatrics last year, researchers pointed to evidence showing a correlation between children's dwindling independence and increasing mental health problems over several decades. "We are not suggesting that a decline in opportunities for independent activity is the sole cause of the decline in young people's mental well-being over decades, only that it is a cause, possibly a major cause," the authors wrote. In Ms. Wolfe's classroom each month, students chose an independent activity, loosely tied to a theme, and completed it by themselves. Then they reported back to their classmates and teacher about the experience. There were no grades or critiques. If Ms. Wolfe asked any probing questions, it was to suss out how her students felt after, say, baking a cake or pulling weeds. Her hope is that their newfound confidence carries into the academic realm.