By The Challenge Success Team
To further enhance the impact of our School Partnership, we are thrilled to be introducing several dedicated cohorts that will leverage the Challenge Success Change Process to investigate specific areas of focus in the schooling experience.
From creating student-centered cell phone policies to exploring AI use in schools, learn about this year’s cohorts and how they hope to improve the student experience together!
Related: Learn more about what’s included in our new Elementary School Partnership!
Call Me Maybe Cohort
Focus: The Call Me Maybe Cohort is a fully grant-funded opportunity for schools (grades 6-12) to co-create cell phone policies that center student voice and well-being. With financial support from the Young Futures Call Me Maybe funding challenge, this cohort will co-design a cell phone policy to implement in 2026-27 and contribute to a toolkit for other schools to learn how to create their own cell phone policies that center student voice and well-being.
School Partners: La Cañada High School (California), Sandia Preparatory School (New Mexico), Legacy Magnet Academy (California)
Academic Engagement Cohort
Focus: Following the pandemic, student disengagement has been receiving increased attention as schools work to recover from learning loss. Rooted in our commitment to equity, the Academic Engagement Cohort is designed to expand access for historically underserved students and strengthen academic engagement outcomes across three participating schools. Each of these schools serves a student population in which at least 40% are economically disadvantaged and/or students of color.
School Partners: Weiss High School (Texas), Jane Macon Middle School (Georgia), Wallis Annenberg High School (California)
Character + AI Cohort
Focus: In this cohort, Challenge Success and the Stanford Graduate School of Education are working with three high schools as school partners to specifically explore the impact of AI on student character development. This cohort will explore various pressing questions and considerations, such as how concerns about ethical AI use can be turned into opportunities to develop students’ moral reasoning, critical thinking, and overall engagement with learning. This project was made possible through support from the John Templeton Foundation*.
School Partners: Arkansas School for Math, Science, and the Arts (Arkansas), Miss Porter’s School (Connecticut), Crosstown High School (Tennessee)
Elementary School Cohort
Focus: In order to achieve our vision of educational systems that help students lead healthy and balanced lives, we must begin our work with schools and families earlier in their educational journey. The new Elementary School Cohort is designed to give young learners a stronger foundation for success by equipping school teams with the tools, data, and strategies needed to support students from the very start of their academic paths.
School Partners: Heidenman Elementary School (California), Phillips Brooks School (California), Weilenmann K-8 School of Discovery (Utah)
Join the Partnership: Learn how to collaboratively improve student outcomes in your school using the SPACE framework!
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. Learn more about how we can collaborate with your school community this year!
Contact us to learn more about our School Partnership and how we can support your school community!
*This project was made possible through the support of Grant #63355 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
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.