By The Challenge Success Team
Challenge Success responds to elementary schools’ urgent need for support with student disengagement, unhealthy stress, and lack of school connectedness.
New for the 2025-26 Academic Year, Challenge Success is thrilled to be expanding its nationally-recognized School Partnership program to elementary schools! The Challenge Success School Partnership is an inclusive, community-driven collaboration that leverages the Challenge Success Change Process to increase well-being, enhance belonging, and deepen engagement with learning.
Related: Learn more about what’s included in our new Elementary School Partnership!
Why Expand? Why Now?
In recent months, we have been fielding more and more requests from K-8 and K-5 schools who urgently need our support. Concerning trends around youth mental health were illuminated by the pandemic, and there is emerging evidence that the combination of social media, phone use, and overemphasis on grades and test scores is negatively impacting even some of our youngest learners.
Since our inception, Challenge Success has worked with more than 750 schools in the US and beyond to increase secondary student well-being, engagement, and belonging. While our School Partnership was created to address rampant disengagement, unhealthy stress, and low belonging in middle and high schools, we have been serving K-12 schools through our professional development and educator and parent surveys for many years.
Our team offers a depth of experience at all grade levels, and is energized to begin this work in the primary grades. Thanks to our expertise at the intersection of education and well-being, we are uniquely positioned to support schools with our approach that is grounded in research, engages the whole school community, and elevates students’ perspectives.
Ultimately, our vision is that educational systems value each student for their unique identities, assets, and individual definitions of success and effectively prepare them for the variety of opportunities and challenges they will encounter in school and beyond.
We now recognize that in order to achieve this vision we must begin our work with schools and families earlier in their K-12 journey. To that end, and guided by the input of our trusted partners and advisors, we are thrilled to announce the Challenge Success Elementary School Partnership.
Contact us to learn more about our Elementary School Partnership and how we can support your school community!
Challenge Success, a nonprofit affiliated with the Stanford Graduate School of Education – elevates student voice and implements research-based, equity-centered strategies to increase well-being, engagement, and belonging in K-12 schools.