How Kalamazoo Area Mathematics + Science IncreaseD Student WEll-Being
As a School Partner for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center (KAMSC) moved through the Challenge Success Change Process to achieve increased well-being for their engaged community of high school students.
The KAMSC staff and administration sought out Challenge Success due to concerns regarding student well-being and school culture. Their hope for students was to help them lead supported, balanced lives in a rigorous environment.
An important first step for every school in the partnership is to intentionally form their 10-person change team that meets with the Challenge Success Coach five times throughout the school year. Because the Challenge Success Change Process prioritizes the voice and perspective of students and actively includes multiple perspectives, cultures, and identities, all teams must include at least two students in addition to school staff and parents/caregivers. KAMSC’s team included:
- 4 students
- 2 parents
- 2 teachers
- College & Career Counselor
- School Director
Center the Student Experience
KAMSC’s fall 2023 student survey was crucial in helping the team to gain a deep understanding of student well-being, engagement, and belonging.
The team examined their data and compared it to Challenge Success national averages, uncovering many bright spots as well as areas for growth:
Define an Improvement Aim
With support from their Challenge Success Coach, the team unpacked the student experience to better understand the underlying root causes of the survey findings. By the end of Phase 1, the team had developed new skills, perspectives, and knowledge, and was ready to create a clear aim for improvement.
The school decided to create a four-year improvement plan to hold themselves accountable and to be careful not to only implement strategies once, but to continue to implement and build on them over time. While the four-year plan includes goals in all three areas of well-being, engagement, and belonging, this spotlight will focus on the work KAMSC did to address student well-being. The team chose to prioritize reducing homework load and academic pressure during the 2024-25 school year.
In Phase 2, the team is charged with co-designing change ideas with specific goals aligned with their vision. This process involves brainstorming, creative ideation, consulting with their coach, using practices from the SPACE Framework for School Change, and collaborating to create an action plan. Teams then put the plan into action by implementing change ideas, monitoring and assessing the progress as they move through Cycles of Inquiry. In KAMSC’s case, they started Phase 2 at the beginning of their second year of the School Partnership (2024-25).
Design + Test Change Ideas
Reflect on Progress
In the spring of the 2024-25 school year, the team conducted a secondary survey to assess the progress on their well-being improvement goals related to academic pressure:
Measurable Improvements in Student Well-Being from Fall 2023 to Spring 2025
Students reporting that they often or always worry about the possibility of not doing well in school decreased from 78% in 2023 to 55% in 2025.
Students reporting that overall workload and homework are a major source of stress decreased from 80% in 2023 to 63% in 2025.
Students reporting that homework often or always prevents them from getting enough sleep decreased from 53% in 2023 to 48% in 2025.
Note: We did not test for statistical significance when measuring change over time.
While the KAMSC team was happy with some of the results of their well-being interventions, that doesn’t mean the work is “done”. They are continuing to work on increasing student sleep as a driver of well-being. The team is also exploring change ideas in the areas of belonging and engagement. They will continue to work towards the goals set in their four-year plan, building year by year on their progress and refining their approach as they go. Like many schools, KAMSC has renewed their partnership and will continue to work with Challenge Success in the 2025-26 school year.