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Category: Educators at Work

Posted
October 7, 2024
Category
Educators at Work

El Centro Elementary: Making a Difference in Students’ Lives

Celebrating El Centro Elementary School District!

We’re excited to highlight the incredible work happening at El Centro Elementary School District in El Centro, California! They have made significant progress in their 7th and 8th grade Advisory classes this school year. They achieved this by integrating Thrively into their curriculum.  With Thrively resources, they’re building positive student learning identities. They are conducting well-being check-ins and fostering hope. They are also guiding students on their paths to future careers.  Awesome job El Centro!

McCabe Elementary School’s Inspiring Career Fair

McCabe Elementary School hosted a Career Fair at the end of last year. The focus was on student strengths and personality types. In preparation for the event, 7th and 8th-grade students completed Thrively’s Strength Assessment. They also completed the RIASEC survey to identify their top career interests. McCabe used the data from these assessments. They invited professionals from fields that closely matched their students’ most popular interest areas. 

The majority of students identified with Enterprising, Investigative, and Social personality types. The fair included a diverse group of professionals as a result. These professionals were bankers, sales managers, real estate agents, nurses, environmental specialists, and social workers. By aligning the presenters with the students’ interests, McCabe ensured that the event was both relevant and engaging. 

The school went the extra mile to make the experience meaningful. In their morning advisory class, students received their Strengths Certificates along with Cornell Notes to use during the presentations. This thoughtful preparation helped students connect with the speakers and provided a structured way to think about what they learned. At the end of the day, students completed reflection forms. They considered how their specific strengths and personalities help them succeed in the careers they found most intriguing.

McCabe took the time to truly understand their students and their aspirations. They created a Career Fair experience that was informative. It was also deeply personalized. 

Some of the students’ responses: 

“These strengths can be used to make myself successful in the career. I can learn information fast. I am creative.”

“Being athletic can help me succeed in Reach 9. I enjoy flying, and it requires strength.”

“I could use my compassion to make sure that they will stay happy. I could use my patience to take the time to help them. I could use social justice to stand up for them. I could use my flexibility to help multiple people at a time. I will use memory to remember how to help them.” (student interested in Social Work)

“The Verbal one shows how it would be nice for me to have a good language and grammar as that would help in advertising when I start my business. Independence shows how I would not depend on someone to start the business for me and I can start from scratch. The drive shows my determination.”

“I can use resilience in becoming a realtor.”

“Memorization is key for any job in the medical field.”

“My personality can fit the types of career I found most interesting because I like talking and being around others.”

“My personality might fit the types of careers I found more interesting because the jobs are very exciting and different every day for variety which I would enjoy.”

“I like comforting people, so being a counselor would be fun, as I enjoy making people feel better.”

Ms. Hester stated, “I think the best part of the experience was students seeing their unique strengths printed and having them with them. This happened while they learned about different career pathways. It makes their future more relevant. They connect career details with how their natural talents can lead to success in those careers. I think it was also very helpful to have data. This data informed our decisions about who to invite to speak to our students.”

Thank you, McCabe Elementary, for your unwavering dedication to your students. You are truly making a lasting impact on their lives and helping them envision a bright future!

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Posted
September 23, 2024
Category
Educators at Work

Thrively’s Impact on APS Schools: Success Stories Unveiled

Shout out to Amphitheater Public Schools (APS) in Tucson, Arizona!

As the school year kicks off, APS is making waves with Thrively’s Gifted and Talented Program. This initiative is significantly boosting student engagement. It is also fostering positive learning identities. Big SHOUT OUT to Nash Elementary School, Mesa Verde Elementary School, La Cima Middle School, and Wilson K-8 School. These schools have completed or almost completed 100% of their students’ strengths assessment. You are setting the foundation for creating a culture of care that identifies and celebrates all students’ unique strengths!

Success Stories: Thriving at Painted Sky Elementary and Coronado K-8 School

Painted Sky Elementary School
Teacher Nina Brown shared her excitement after a recent professional development session on Thrively. She stated, “Thank you for yesterday’s PD! I learned so much more about Thrively and am super pumped to dive deeper into it this year! We did the Pencil Carry Challenge in one of my 4th grade classes. We had an amazing discussion afterwards about what helped their team find success. The kids loved this exercise as well and challenged themselves to find multiple ways to solve the problem.” Each of her four groups came up with a unique solution—an inspiring showcase of collaboration and creativity!

Coronado K-8 School
From Teacher Erica Sparlin: After taking the Strengths Assessment, most students have all 4 [assessments] finished. Students made a hexagon with the 6 chosen strengths. They added pictures & colors if they chose to. Then, they made several matches with classmates. Finally, each class made a giant connection. These activities provided a great opportunity to recognize and leverage individual student strengths. As students participated, they naturally took on roles that played to their unique abilities, like leadership, creativity, or strategic thinking.

After the challenges, the discussions allowed students to think about their personal contributions. Students recognized the specific strengths that helped their team succeed. This learning activity not only fostered teamwork but also encouraged self-awareness and confidence in their abilities. By understanding how their unique strengths contribute to group success, students are better prepared for future collaborative projects. This reinforces the importance of diverse skills and perspectives in achieving common goals.

We are thrilled to partner with Amphitheater Public Schools, and Thrively is here to help every student recognize their genius. Every student deserves to thrive! Keep up the incredible work!

Posted
May 22, 2023
Category
Educators at Work

It is Where it begins with Thrively

Student strengths are at the heart of Thrively’s mission to help every learner feel known, valued, and supported. But bringing strengths-based learning into schools begins with the educators who believe in its importance.

At Nantucket High School, China Paden, Liaison for Special Services, has been a dedicated Thrively enthusiast for years.

Each year, she worked to secure funding to support her students’ experiences with Thrively. Knowing that all students at her high school could benefit from discovering and exploring their strengths, Ms. Paden took another important step.

She applied for a grant and successfully secured funding to expand access to Thrively for students across Nantucket High School.

Helping Students Discover Their Strengths at Nantucket High School

With the support of the grant, students at Nantucket High School gained access to opportunities to identify their strengths, explore them more deeply, and consider how those strengths connect to different areas of their lives.

Through Thrively, learners can begin to understand what makes them unique and recognize the positive qualities they bring to their school community.

This approach encourages students to focus on their abilities and potential rather than defining themselves by their challenges.

Supporting Student Strengths and Agency

Within four weeks of implementation, Ms. Paden was able to demonstrate that the learners she served were being recognized as individuals and had opportunities to explore their strengths more deeply.

This early experience highlighted the value of helping students feel known and giving them the agency to take an active role in understanding themselves.

When students have opportunities to reflect on their strengths, they can begin connecting what they learn about themselves to their interests, goals, and everyday experiences.

Why Strengths-Based Learning Matters for Student Engagement

Understanding student strengths can help educators build stronger connections with the learners they support.

The original account highlighted research suggesting that students are significantly more engaged when educators know their strengths.

The broader message is important: knowing students as individuals can make learning more meaningful.

By recognizing what students do well, teachers can create opportunities for learners to develop confidence, reflect on their abilities, and engage with their learning experiences.

Supporting Teachers in Building an Asset-Based Learning Environment

At Thrively, we believe meaningful change begins with teachers.

Educators play an important role in helping students recognize their strengths and develop a positive understanding of themselves.

Our goal is to support teachers as they create asset-based learning environments where students feel known, valued, and encouraged to grow.

Through the Thrively classroom platform, educators can introduce strengths-based experiences that help students explore their abilities and connect those insights to their lives.

China Paden’s commitment to bringing Thrively to Nantucket High School is an example of how educator leadership can create opportunities for students.

We are honored to support teachers like Ms. Paden, who are working to ensure every learner has an opportunity to thrive.

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