4. The Plan
At the heart of the program and student transformation is the curriculum entitled The Power of Why. Students complete them through face-to-face conversations at home with their parents.
1. The Program
Family-Engaged Learning is an exciting new program to improve students’ behavior and academics by using their families’ foundational values regarding character and learning.
It achieves this by engaging parents to discuss their family’s core values with their children which provides a foundation for social-emotional learning.
2. The Vital Role of Meaning & Purpose
Student motivation comes from finding a sense of meaning that goes beyond themselves. This is the key for students to DO their best with tasks and BE their best with others.
A sense of meaning and purpose is personal to each student. That’s where parents play a vital role.
3. The Research
Research has found that students with a personally meaningful reason for learning – a bigger Why – have more perseverance and academic self-control. Researchers conclude:
“[W]hen adolescents had a personally important and self-transcendent ‘why’ for learning, they were able to bear even a tedious and unpleasant ‘how.’”
5. The Results
"At first, we thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be extra work.’ But honestly, it was something really good for our students. We’ve seen a lot of engagement from students for very little output on our side. One student told me, ‘My family’s not going to talk to me. There is no way I can do this assignment.’ But she was the first one with the assignment completed the next day and she said, ‘They talked to me! I couldn’t believe it.’ Ever since, she’s been the first to complete each assignment and I’ve noticed quite a bit more engagement from her.”
Christy G. - Elementary Teacher
"My classroom management and environment have improved greatly. There have been very few times I’ve had to write disciplinary actions this year. Last year, I had to write several, but after using the program I’ve only had to write two the whole year, which is marvelous for me!”
Lisha W. - Middle School Teacher
