Challenge Success

Challenge Success has developed a robust evaluation plan to measure our impact. Short-term outcomes include developing new knowledge, perspectives, and mindsets, strengthening skills and capacities, and increasing individual behavior change. We measure these outcomes through participant surveys, focus groups, and exit tickets at Challenge Success workshops and events.

Intermediate outcomes include shifting the school community's values to prioritize student well-being, increasing the readiness for change within a school community, and implementing school-level policy and practice changes. We currently implement a mid-year and end-of-year evaluation process for all partner schools, including observations from the Challenge Success coach, analysis of artifacts, and reflections from the school teams.

In the long term, we aim to improve student well-being, engagement, and belonging. As a result of the changes made in schools, we see evidence of more balance, improved sleep, improved sense of belonging and connection, increased engagement in learning, less cheating, better teacher support, and reduced stress.

We believe the greatest impact for students happens when we center the student experience, co-design with all community members, and implement research-based, equity-centered policies and practices.

STUDENTS AT THE CENTER
Our aim is to better understand the student experience to ensure that the school change process is authentic and effective.
- We view students as co-designers and provide opportunities for student voices and agency.
- We gather actionable data about the student experience and use it to guide the decision-making processes.

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN CHANGE
Our aim is to collaborate with students, families, and educators to redefine student success and focus on well-being, belonging, and engagement with learning.
- We co-design with communities, leverage unique community assets, and focus on systemic changes based on evidence of what works in local contexts.
- Partnering with school communities to co-design and test solutions empowers individuals and groups to take ownership of the issues that affect their lives.
- We offer powerful adult learning opportunities for educators, parents, and caregivers so that they can support student well-being, engagement, and belonging.

RESEARCH-BASED, EQUITY-CENTERED STRATEGIES
Our aim is to build a deeper awareness of the student experience, especially those for whom identity, culture, or socioeconomic status has resulted in barriers to access and success.
- Using the most recent research, we share up-to-date insights for educators, caregivers, and policy-makers to build an increased understanding of the current environmental conditions that cultivate well-being, belonging and engagement in schools.
- We rely on data and research to guide our work. Our archive of over 375,000 survey responses from middle and high school students offers a wealth of insights into the student experience.
- Our S.P.A.C.E Framework for School Change offers research-based, equity-centered interventions for schools to implement in their learning environments.

POLICY AND PRACTICE LEVEL CHANGES
Our approach creates sustainable improvements to the educational system itself through school- and district-level policy and practice changes that have the greatest impact on those furthest from opportunity.

We typically work with 40-50 secondary schools throughout the U.S. each year in our School Partnership, which centers on a research-based school change framework (SPACE) and focuses on timely and practical strategies that address root causes and positively impact students and faculty. Schools participate in the year-long program with a multi-stakeholder team of administrators, counselors, teachers, parents, and students because we believe real, lasting change requires the entire school community. Our long-term aim is to drive systemic change and mobilize more school communities to prioritize student well-being, belonging, and engagement. As part of the U.S. Surgeon General's Call to Action on Youth Mental Health, we are committed to a collective effort to prioritize the well-being of our youth.

Since our inception, we have surveyed over 300,000 middle and high school students and partnered with over 700 schools nationwide, including public district schools, charter schools, religiously affiliated schools, and private/independent schools. Our School Partnership is designed to support middle and high school teams. We also offer professional development and parent education workshops and seminars that support preschool, elementary, middle, and high schools.

During the 2022-23 school year, over 65,000 middle and high school students completed the Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of School Experiences. We also work with an average of 45 schools per year in the School Partnership. The partner schools range in size, including large comprehensive public schools of 2,000+ students to small charter and private schools serving less than 400 students each.

Each year, Challenge Success also directly works with 12 - 15 students as part of our Student Advisory Council. We intentionally recruit a diverse group of students from a range of backgrounds to serve on the council and invite them to provide critical feedback on Challenge Success efforts, help to advocate for student well-being, engagement, and belonging, and lead a variety of projects within their own communities and on-behalf of the broader Challenge Success community.

We measure participation and engagement metrics in various ways, including our direct work with schools and our public-facing approaches to sharing our work. The following metrics are from the 2022-23 fiscal year:

We worked with 149 schools in 28 states and 4 countries outside the U.S.
We surveyed 65,000 secondary students.
614 donors from 18 states supported us with a financial contribution.
Over 6,700 individuals registered for our public events.
More than 100,000 people viewed our website.
We had over 20,000 subscribers through our social media channels and email mailing list.
We published 7 articles in various publications, including The Hechinger Report and Getting Smart.
7 additional publications, including Edutopia, Vox, and Psychology Today, cited our work or interviewed a staff member.
We presented at 10 conferences, including the National Association of College Admissions Counselors Conference, the National Association of Independent Schools Conference, Deeper Learning, and more.

Most recently, we were featured in the New York Times, CNN, KAPPAN Magazine, and ASCDs Educational Leadership Magazine and presented at the California Student Mental Wellness Conference, Carnegie Summit on Improvement, and Learning & the Brain.