What to do on Testing day?

The leadership in the Sweetwater Union School District took a proactive approach when asking the question, “What do we do with our 9th and 12th graders while our 10th and 11th graders are taking the PSAT test?” The team quickly came to the conclusion that engaging students in structured activities that could be managed by any staff member due to the flexing of student schedules was the obvious solution. Yet, the question remained, what were the students to do? The Sweetwater District, with over 4 years of partnership with Thrively, knew they could co-design a solution that would work across multiple high schools.

On the day of the PSAT test, the 9th and 12th grade students engaged in different activities in Thrively with while they reflected on the following:

• Who am I?
• Where am I going?
• How do I get there?

The 9th graders found themselves taking the strength assessment and reflecting on their top 3 strengths. The 12th grades engaged in the Thrively Interest Profiler (RIASEC) and learned more about career pathways. A powerful reflection at the end saw the students completing the journal reflection prompt, “What I wish my teacher knew . . .” How would your students answer the question? Thrively is here to help.

Staff Strengths in Poway Unified

Do you know the strengths of your staff? The time is now to create cognitively diverse strength teams. When staff know themselves and are known, valued and engaged by their strengths, you are well on your way to a thriving campus. Creating a culture of care begins with caring for those in our care. School leaders in Poway Unified activate both online and offline activities in Thrively to promote positive staff identity. It’s no longer enough to have students reflect and share, “What I wish my teacher knew.” It’s time to have our teaching staff share, “What I wish my administrators knew . . .”

The next time you jump into a conversation, lead with what is strong versus wrong. Thrively is here to help.

Professional Development to Empower Professionals in Santee School District

Professional Development to Empower Professionals in Santee School District

Have you ever been asked, “What’s wrong with you?” At Thrively, we focus on what is “strong with you” and your community. The Santee School District in San Diego County, is a TK-8 educational powerhouse focused on building upon both student and staff strengths under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Baranski and Mike Olander, Director Pupil Services & Student Well-Being. The district leadership team doubled down on well-being professional development and released all 6-8 middle school teachers and instructional coaches over the course of 4 days starting in the summer.

Following a deep dive into strengths using Thrively’s strength assessment developed by leading Pediatric Neuropsychologists, the staff discovered resources inside of Thrively to supercharge their wellness lessons. With over 10,000 hours of content, the Santee staff shared favorite lessons that were strategically curated into “playlists” that then were assigned to students for practice. Using the progress monitoring and feedback tools in Thrively, students have already completed 1,200 journal reflections to build upon their self-awareness.

When we shift our focus from what is wrong to what is strong, both our staff and students thrive!