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Parent-Teacher conferences offer the opportunity to build a supportive, collaborative relationship with your child’s teacher and bring up any questions or concerns you might have about your child’s academic, social, and emotional development. Use these four tips to foster a strong community around your child’s education and well-being, as well as to foster a compassionate partnership with your child’s teacher.
Read MoreNavigating and understanding emotions is a journey, and giving your child the space and language to express themselves can help them navigate the ups and downs of life in the future.
Read MoreA Relationship Map is a visual tool that helps children identify the adults at school who can offer support and guidance. By creating this map together, parents and caregivers can empower children to feel confident and prepared to tackle any challenges that may come their way.
Read MoreThe home stretch of summer has begun, and for many kids, school may be starting in just a week or two. The end of the summer can bring many emotions (for kids and parents alike), and the best way to support kids in feeling safe and secure with a big transition is to feel comfortable with it yourself. One of the most important parts of navigating this busy time lies in thoughtful preparation. These three tips can help parents and caregivers confidently step into a new school year, ease the stress, and tune into feelings of excitement for a new chapter.
Read MoreBack-to-school this year comes with a milestone for my family: my 12-year-old is heading to middle school. He’ll be taking a city bus to and from his new school, which is across town from where we live. It’s a simultaneously thrilling and terrifying prospect that has raised a nagging question: Is it time for a smartphone?
Read MoreDaily challenges that children face range from navigating illness, trying to make friends at a new school, struggling to understand a new concept at skill, or experiencing deep grief from the loss of a loved one. As a parent, it can be tempting to solve our children’s problems and remove the stressors from their lives. These three tips can help you support your child in developing resilience and confidence amidst adversity.
Read MoreIt’s summer! A time for relaxation, exploration, and a well-deserved break from the school routine. But just like children’s academic skills can regress during this period (the dreaded "summer slide"), social-emotional skills and mental health can also take a dip. Here are 5 tips for preventing the summer SEL slide and promoting family wellbeing.
Read MoreMany fathers in the United States said they felt closer to their children—spending more time and better-quality time with them—during the coronavirus pandemic than they did before the pandemic began in early 2020. Now, as we approach Father’s Day a little more than a year after the World Health Organization declared the end of the pandemic, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on these relationships.
Read MoreCaring for ourselves and our children is a stressful job. From the number of decisions we make each day, to navigating work, health, and schooling, a parent’s to-do-list is neverending. Even though experiencing stress isn’t enjoyable, it’s important to remember that everyone experiences stress. Exploring ways to better understand and manage your stress can strengthen your connection and relationship with your child.
Read MoreCollege isn’t the only path to success, and it’s important for the adults in teens’ lives—family members, teachers, coaches, and others—to acknowledge the value of diverse paths that don’t include four-year degree. Here are 20 questions to ask soon-to-be graduates that celebrate a wider range of options for life after high school.
Read MoreEvery year, Mother's Day prompts a flurry of Hallmark card purchases, brunch reservations, and frantic (maybe even last-minute?) searches for the perfect bouquet. Don't get me wrong—these gestures are lovely and appreciated. But for many moms, the gift they really want isn’t something that can be wrapped. It’s recognition of—and help with—the mostly unseen work that keeps the family ship afloat.
Read MoreThe emotions we experience influence the way we interact with the people we love. As adults, many of us haven’t had the time (or support) to explore our emotions or build healthy coping strategies. Due to busy schedules, dealing with grief, trying to support our family’s financial needs, and so many other challenges that we experience as parents, understanding and navigating our emotions can fall to the bottom of the to-do list.
Read MorePlanning some spring cleaning? Include your kids! Chores can be about much more than just keeping a tidy house (although a clean space doesn’t hurt). When your kids pitch in, it can help them develop empathy, responsibility, self-efficacy, and confidence. Plus, it can strengthen your connection as a family.
Read MoreAs part of our relationship mapping and mental health initiatives, we’ve been focusing much more of our time on creating resources for educators and caregivers to help them support student mental health. We aim to Increase awareness around mental health for both teens and adult in addition to providing adults with actionable tips and strategies to support their teens, and themselves.
Read MoreTraditionally, colleges look for students with good grades and test scores, but this approach might not identify those who will flourish on campus. The Thrivers Study suggests a more holistic approach.
The Thrivers Study involves a team of staff and faculty from various departments like admissions, student life, and alumni engagement. Together, they define what it means to be a thriving student at their college and identify current students who exemplify this.
By interviewing and surveying these thriving students, the college can understand what factors attracted them and helped them succeed. This might be unique academic programs, strong support systems, or a vibrant campus life.
Read MoreCollege admissions officers face pressure to build a diverse and interesting student body, especially with evolving application trends like grade inflation and test-optional policies. Focusing on non-academic traits can be helpful, but it requires clear communication. Clearer and more engaging supplemental essay prompts can promote a more equitable admissions process and help admission offices gather the information they need to admit students who will thrive in their unique campus environment.
Read MoreThe college admissions process often relies on vague terms like "grit" and "resiliency" to assess applicants' non-cognitive traits. This lack of clear definitions can lead to miscommunication and bias among admission officers. To address this issue, colleges should develop a shared understanding of the qualities they value and how to identify them in applications. This can be achieved by defining these traits clearly, anchoring them in research, and providing examples of how they might be demonstrated. By being more explicit about what they are looking for, colleges can create a fairer and more equitable admissions process for all applicants.
Read MoreParent-teacher conferences are about more than just academic performance. They offer a critical window into your child's social-emotional development and their contributions to their school community. Here are 15 questions, tailored for grades PreK - 12, to guide you in asking these important questions during your next teacher meeting.
Read MoreAs educators, we can get caught up in focusing on individual goals that we forget to step back and consider a shared vision of what success looks like. In other words, what does a thriving student look like at our institution? What characteristics does a thriving student bring to the table? And how can we create the conditions to cultivate that across our learning community?
Read MoreFor Valentine’s Day, we sat down with our faculty director to talk about love and his research, and specifically, what parents, schools, and communities can do to help young people build fulfilling relationships.
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