The Next Steps with Challenge Success: Create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for our students.

We had a lively discussion at yesterday's High School PTA Coffee about the culture and climate at Graded. We used what we have learned from our work with Challenge Success to frame the discussion and participants were asked to take a stance on several position statements. They had to decide where they felt the Graded parent community stood on the topics of homework, future university plans for their sons/daughters, extra-curricular activities, and posting of grades on Veracross. The group also developed statements about the school culture that faculty and students will respond to. This was our first meeting after releasing the data and we are clearly moving into an action phase. The next steps include:

• Begin the dialogue with faculty and students 
• Join the Challenge Success community and begin working with them on an action plan 
• Recruit Volunteers for a team of representatives from all stakeholder groups

Below is the presentation from yesterday's meeting. We'll be sharing the parents' views after sharing with the faculty. Please feel free to add comments and/or questions using the comment feature below. We look forward to getting input from a larger group of community members.

Stress in School: A dramatic look at high school life

In the US television series Boston Legal, one of the episodes included a court case where a parent was suing her daughter's school for her death. The daughter died while falling asleep while driving. This segment may seem like an advertisement for Challenge Success since they even mention Denise Pope, co-founder of Challenge Success. We will be using this clip during the High School PTA Coffee on September 25th.

2013 Parent Open House

We were excited about opening up our classrooms to over 100 parents at Open House on Tuesday. The event included an opening session, a full assembly with the student body, classroom visits and a reception with teachers.

Opening Session Presentation
 During the student assembly Mr. Fernandes and the counseling team shared the results from the Challenge Success survey that students took in April. As a school, we will be using this information to target our efforts to create a healthier environment for all members of our community. Parents are invited to begin work at our September 25th PTA Coffee.

Student Assembly Presentation on Challenge Success

HS PTA Coffee Resources

We had a fantastic discussion around Challenge for Success student survey questions where parents were asked, "How will your sons and daughters respond?"We will find out how are students think after they take the survey and we receive the results in August. Below is the presentation from the HS PTA Coffee and Challenge Success resources for you to use in your learning. Thanks to David Bair, Mike Dunlop, Lucy Andrade, Amy Flindt, Keren Soriano, Meryl Zeidenberg and Milly Pannunzio for sharing today.

Challenge Success Resources

• Tuesday Interview with Madeline Levine, Co-founder of Challenge Success, on Teaching your Child Well. from The Future of Education

Follow Challenge Success on Twitter https://twitter.com/chalsuccess Follow Challenge Success on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ChallengeSuccess Challenge Success Blog Articles, including COURAGEOUS PARENTING by Madeline Levine, Ph.D. Second-Hand Performance Anxiety: 5 Reasons Why Parents Fret Over Their Kids’ Performance Why Cheat? More Importantly, Why Not? by Stephanie Rafanelli COURAGEOUS PARENTING by Madeline Levine, Ph.D. Want to Avoid the Homework Wars? - Here’s How Homework White Paper Academic Integrity White Paper Resources that align with Challenge Success Campus Calm by Maria Pascucci “As a mentor for rising leaders and a natural overachiever, Maria Pascucci understands the first-hand effects of striving for perfection in all facets of life. She urges college women leaders, college students and young professionals to be mindful of the detriment these effects can have on their mental, emotional and physical state and believes that sometimes, it is best to just "keep calm".” “Harvard Schmarvard” by Jay Matthews "How to Be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get into College by Standing Out (Without Burning Out)" by Cal Newport