Sage Ridge Begins Second Year of Parternship with Challenge Success

In 2020, Sage Ridge embarked on a partnership with Challenge Success, an organization affiliated with Stanford University that uses research to help schools to improve their students’ engagement and well-being. I am fortunate to be part of the team, and as Dean of Students in the Upper School, I am very invested in the work facilitated by Challenge Success to improve student life at Sage Ridge. Other members of our team include teachers (Jen Kuehn and Tara McGann), administrators (Scott Huyler, Tracy Hardister, Rob Lamb, and Tobin Bechtel), parents (Ernie Thompson and Robin Soran), and students (Sitara Reganti, Michael Skaria, and Samantha Kenyherz). The team is guided by a fantastic coach from Challenge Success, Jen Cote. This “multi-stakeholder” team meets regularly to examine data, uncover sources of student stress, and create initiatives that work towards our goals. Additionally, the team attends a Fall and Spring two-day conference together. 

In the 2020-2021 school year, the team’s focus was on the middle school. Some of our first steps included composing a North Star vision of our work, building a stress tree that helped to identify symptoms of student stress and the root causes of those symptoms, and gathering data via a comprehensive student survey, a teacher survey, and a recorded interview of middle school students in what is called a “fishbowl discussion.” Through examination of the information gathered, the team identified two major areas of concern: the need to increase the student voice on campus, and the school’s practices and policies related to assessment. 

The need to increase student voice emerged as the team realized that there may be a lack of sufficient opportunities for students to share concerns or needs with teachers and administrators. The team also recognized that our students are empathetic young people who are quick to recognize the perspective of others. When Sage Ridge students are willing to share a concern, they often qualify their comments with statements that reveal their understanding of the other factors that are in play. It can sound something like, “I know the teacher is trying to make sure we’re prepared, so they probably can’t do anything about this anyway…” Sometimes, students don’t feel comfortable sharing their concerns because they are too worried about being disrespectful. Sage Ridge, however, is in the business of fostering student growth and preparing students for life after high school, and to that end, it is crucial that students learn self-advocacy skills, discover what matters to them, and practice using their voice courageously. To that end, the Challenge Success team is working to create a culture where student voice is more welcome and to increase opportunities for students to speak up in order to strengthen their engagement and well-being in all aspects of Sage Ridge life. 

The team’s focus on assessment practices was motivated by the desire to improve the quality of scholarship, lessen the incidence of “doing school” (going through the motions without interest), and reduce honor code violations. As a college preparatory school, Sage Ridge is deeply invested in preparing students to thrive in college. Thriving in college, however, means more than knowing how to succeed in terms of grades; it also means being curious, passionate, and confident. To create more joyful opportunities for the development of curiosity and passion, the Challenge Success team examines possibilities that could increase engagement in learning and decrease workload. Last year, the team proposed a series of amendments to the school’s homework policies, some of which have been adopted for this year and some of which the school is working towards implementing in the near future. 

Beyond the team’s work, Challenge Success offers a number of educational opportunities for the community. In the fall of 2020, the faculty participated in a workshop entitled “Rethinking Assessment.” In the winter of 2021, Upper School students, parents, and teachers were invited to a “A Healthier Approach to College Admissions,” a workshop that presented alternative ways to think about the way we define success in the college admissions process. We’re looking forward to offering more workshops for teachers, students, and parents this year, and will be excited to announce them as they are planned. 

In the 2021-2022 school year, the team will shift its focus to the Upper School. In September, all Upper School students will be asked to complete a comprehensive anonymous survey that spans all aspects of student life at Sage Ridge. As a second, very important data point, Upper School parents will also be asked to complete a survey.  The information that we gather from those surveys will be invaluable in the team’s efforts to improve student engagement in learning and overall well-being at Sage Ridge. As a second-year school in the Challenge Success program, the team is looking forward to piloting initiatives that will help address the needs that emerge from those surveys. 

Each month, one of the team members will share their perspective on what we’ve been working on in the Scorpion Spotlight. We are looking forward to keeping the community informed on the work the team is doing!