TRANSFORM THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE THROUGH THE

Challenge Success School Partnership

Partner with our team to increase student well-being, enhance belonging, and deepen engagement with learning.

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE SUCCESS SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP?

A collaborative change process

The Challenge Success School Partnership is an inclusive, community-driven collaboration that leverages the Challenge Success Change Process to transform the student experience within your school. Our program is a research-backed way to prioritize student well-being while also deepening engagement with learning and enhancing belonging.

Together, we will center the student experience, gather and interpret community-voice data, design research-based, equitable policy and practice changes, and create community-specific outcomes for all students that demonstrate positive youth development, including:

Increased WELL-BEING,
Deeper ENGAGEMENT with learning, and
Enhanced BELONGING,

well-being, engagement, and belonging are intrinsically linked

So that ultimately, each student is valued for their unique identities, assets, and individual definition of success, and all students are supported to lead healthy, balanced lives.

Schools may choose from a standard partnership, lasting the academic year, or an extended partnership of 18 months with a flexible start date.

Interested in partnering with us for the 2025-26 school year?

INQUIRE HERE

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Services for Student Well-Being, Engagement & Belonging

students and teachers working together to increase well-being, engagement, and belonging in school

School Surveys

2 comprehensive data collection surveys for students and either parents/caregivers or faculty/staff. Survey data will be shared during a survey debrief, and the school receives an interactive online dashboard.

Workshops

3 virtual Professional Development and/or Community Education workshops.

School Pass to Challenge Success’s Public Webinars

Free access for your entire school community to all Challenge Success public webinars and workshops.

Coaching Sessions

Virtual, group coaching sessions with a Challenge Success coach and your multi-stakeholder team.

Monthly Leadership Meetings

Thought partner and plan during 1:1 virtual meetings for the school leader with their Challenge Success School Design Partner.

On-Site Visit to School

You will work collaboratively with your Challenge Success School Design Partner to determine which services listed above will be delivered in person during your full-day on-site visit.

Fall Conference

Attend our in-person conference on either the East or West coast in Fall 2024 with up to 10 team members. This one-and-a-half-day conference includes interactive presentations, research-based workshops, community building between school teams, and time allotted to work on your school team’s action plan.

Fall Conference Dates for the 2024-25 school year: Sept 13-14th, 2024 in Palo Alto or Sept. 27-28th, 202 in Waltham, MA.

Spring Convening

Attend our in-person convening in Spring 2025 with up to 10 team members. The full-day event will include deep dives, reflecting on the past year, planning for the one ahead, and opportunities to share and learn from other schools’ work. 2025 convening dates and locations TBD.

Research-Based Resources

Exclusive access to relevant research and tools in our resource portal connected to our SPACE framework. You’ll also receive a copy of the Challenge Success book, Overloaded and Underprepared.

Many schools have accessed state, local, and community funding for youth mental health, professional development, or community engagement to support this work. Learn more about potential sources of funding.

Challenge Success strives to offer need-based financial assistance in an effort to support schools and organizations with limited resources. We believe that cost should not be a deterrent to accessing quality programs. To apply, please complete this form. All requests will be reviewed by our Executive Director.

PARTNERSHIP TESTIMONIALS

“Challenge Success has been part of our district for five years and has stretched our thinking in terms of how we support the social-emotional well-being of students. We have made strides in looking at the quantity and quality of homework, the scheduling of extra-curricular activities, adding free time and downtime to the school day, and worked to educate students, teachers, and parents on how to develop a balanced lifestyle for our overloaded kids.”
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT

“I can honestly say that our involvement with Challenge Success exceeded our expectations. Meeting, dialoguing and connecting with like-schools, the student survey and working with our coach has been the extra support we needed to begin the process of creating a healthier climate for our students, teachers, and parents.”
DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT

“The Challenge Success program acted as a breath of fresh air within our extremely narrowly-focused school environment. The program helped to build in P.D.F. (Playtime, Downtime, and Family time) that every student needs in order to find the necessary balance in their day.”
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT

SEE SUCCESS STORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Reach out to our team directly for more information: info@challengesuccess.org

What grade levels do you work with?

Our School Program is designed to support middle and high school teams. We offer professional development and parent education workshops and seminars that support elementary, middle, and high schools.

What can we expect in our first year of engagement with Challenge Success?

Some initiatives will happen this year, including data collection from multiple stakeholders, conversations as a community, and pilot initiatives that bring both awareness and momentum to your vision and longer- term goals. Other initiatives may take multiple years to implement. Our goal is not to transform a school as quickly as possible but instead to help a school drive lasting, meaningful change. Doing this well can take time.

Our school already has so many initiatives. Do we need one more?

The Challenge Success SPACE Framework acts as an umbrella that helps to connect and unify the actions you may already be taking to support students and improve your school. Challenge Success helps synthesize your current efforts. This is not a new initiative, as much as it is a way to connect and energize your efforts to better support your students to be healthy and engaged with learning.

Will focusing on well-being “dumb down” our school?

Academic rigor and student well-being are not mutually exclusive. Research shows that cultivating a sense of well-being and belonging enables students to be engaged in the rigorous learning experience we want for them.

Too often, however, we use the word “rigor” (how assignments challenge, interest, and engage students) in schools as a synonym for “load” (how much work is assigned). Research suggests that school workload – and the “more is better” mindset – is a primary source of stress for students and is associated with higher levels of depression, sleep deprivation, and other physical health problems.

Why does a school team require multiple stakeholders?

Your school is a community of educators, families, and students, all of whom carry a different perspective and different set of needs. We recognize that for real, lasting progress, all of these groups need to share in the work of identifying challenges and driving solutions.