Challenge Success has been awarded a grant to support three secondary schools in the 2025-26 School Partnership at no cost!
Schools in the US serving grades 6-12 are eligible to apply for this unique Cell Phone Policy Cohort, a fully grant-funded opportunity for schools to leverage the Challenge Success Change Process to create cell phone policies that center student voice and well-being.
Schools in the US serving grades 6-12 are eligible to apply. School Principals/Heads of School are invited to complete the application no later than 5pm PT on June 30, 2025 to be considered. Challenge Success will select three schools that will be notified by July 15, 2025.
If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact Matt Swenson, Director of Educational Partnerships.
To ensure a meaningful and effective partnership, participating schools must meet the eligibility requirements and commit to the following criteria. These commitments will help maximize the impact of our collaboration and support sustainable change.
Leadership, Commitment & Resource Allocation
-Designate a diverse-role team (including administrators, teachers, students, families) to lead the work and attend key sessions. The team must include at least two students.
-Prioritize this work within the school’s broader improvement efforts
-Ensure school leadership actively supports and champions the partnership to the community
-Allocate appropriate resources and staffing to support implementation, including time for meetings, professional learning, and data analysis
-Designate a primary point of contact to coordinate partnership activities
Data Collection & Reflection
-Administer the Challenge Success student survey
-Engage in ongoing reflection and analysis of data to inform decision-making
-Share insights and feedback with Challenge Success to contribute to broader learnings
Professional Learning & Implementation
-Attend Challenge Success conferences/convenings to engage with a network of like-minded schools
-Participate in virtual coaching sessions and monthly leadership meetings to drive progress
-Participate in Challenge Success workshops
-Pilot at least one evidence-based approach to a school cell phone policy
Equity, Inclusion, and Student Voice
-Prioritize participation of students, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds
-Commit to investigating cell phone policies and structures that may unintentionally hinder student well-being
-Ensure that student and family voices are meaningfully incorporated into the process
Documentation & Sharing
-Share insights and best practices with Challenge Success to inform future work and case studies (e.g., curation of digital portfolio, completion of mid and end of the-year surveys, etc.)
-Provide periodic updates on progress and challenges, fostering a collaborative learning experience
-Commit to sharing impact stories that may inspire other schools to engage in this work
-10 tickets to the Challenge Success Annual Conference at Stanford University, September 12-13, 2025
-$1,500 stipend to help offset travel expenses to the conference; additional travel expenses are the responsibility of the school.
-Team coaching and leadership support throughout the school year (August 2025-June 2026)
-Administration of the middle or high school Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of Student Experiences; interactive dashboard and debrief with the Challenge Success Research Team
-One-day on-site visit from their Challenge Success coach
-Two professional development/parent education workshops and/or focus groups
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 for your students. This grant-funded cohort has a specific focus on cell phone policies that center student voice and well-being.
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, each school will:
-Pilot policy and practice changes related to cell phone use at school and gather feedback from students
-Co-design a cell phone policy to implement in 2026-27
-Contribute to a toolkit for other schools to learn how to create their own cell phone policies that center student voice and well-being