Thrively and the Future of High School as a Launch Point for Every Student
What if high school could be the launch point for every student’s future thinking, not just a gateway to college or a career?
As the chief learning officer at Thrively and a career educator from secondary English teacher to assistant state superintendent, I read High School as a Launch Point: Opportunity, Development, and Redesign in California (May 2026 Research Brief) through a scholar-practitioner lens. The research brief highlights a tide of complexity in California’s high schools: Opportunity gaps, uneven development, and redesign efforts that must scale meaningfully to improve outcomes for all students.
Based on my work at Thrively and decades in classrooms and system leadership, the answer to the question I posed lies in aligning developmental science with practical, equity-seeking design anchored in the conditions for learning: Strengths, Well-Being, Hope, and Connections. The Thrively Framework offers a concrete, evidence-informed pathway to address the findings in the Research Brief: An industry-first Strengths Assessment, research-based Well-Being Check-In and Hope Index, the Connections Tool, and a learner-centered, strengths-based digital portfolio.
The Thrively Strengths Assessment is the prerequisite to create the conditions for learning.
In my teaching experiences, helping students name their strengths changes the posture of learning. It shifts conversations from “what’s wrong with you” to “what’s strong with you.” The Thrively Strengths Assessment, the industry’s first strengths assessment for children and adolescents developed by board certified pediatric neuropsychologists, serves as a baseline for identity, discovery, and personalized learning. When educators normalize strengths conversations, students experience a broader range of pathways rather than a single ‘track.’ Research shows that students are 30x more engaged when the school is committed to building on their strengths.
Well-Being and Hope as the magnetic North Star:
Developed in partnership with The Center for Whole Child Education, the Well-Being Index helps educators hear directly, quickly and systemically from all students. In less than 90 seconds, it provides a practical, non-stigmatizing view of each student’s sense of their own physical, emotional and social health – specifically how they are feeling and functioning. In schools, timely well-being data supports responsive scheduling, targeted interventions, mentoring, and restorative practices.
The Hope Index, anchored in Hope Theory research and developed in partnership with educator and best-selling author of School of Hope, Cathleen Beachboard, measures AGENCY (the determination to reach your goals) and PATHWAYS (the ability to create ways to meet your goals and overcome barriers) to give an overall Hope score. The data provided, aligned to the science and psychology of Hope, is used to build resilience and improve academic outcomes. Research underscores that Hope is a primary predictor of academic, career and life success.
Connections are the glue of redesign. School culture isn’t built by programs, it’s built by people who feel connected, and disengagement often stems from isolation. Did you know that relationships and connections can be measured? And they can be strengthened strategically. With Thrively’s Connections Tool, educators identify connection strength, visualize disconnection risks, and take action with curated resources. More than data, it’s a culture builder. It gives educators the clarity to intervene early, the resources to act intentionally, and the confidence to know every learner is seen and supported. Research on school connectedness consistently links sense of belonging with higher academic effort and lower drop-out risk, underscoring the importance of consciously designed connections.
Watch a short video about the Connections Tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6lTY8VXh_8
Bringing it all together
Question: How do we track, measure and make visible student learning and growth in a way that students actually understand, so they know who they are, how they’re growing, and where they’re going next? In other words, how do we bring the conditions for learning (Strengths, Well-Being, Hope and Connections) together? Answer: The Thrively Digital Portfolio
Inside the Thrively Digital Portfolio, students set goals aligned to interests, aspirations and competencies. They engage in learning experiences that allow them to practice and apply critical skills. And most importantly, they capture highlights, or evidence of their learning. Students can show their learning in multiple ways, including written reflections, videos, and voice recordings. Each piece of evidence is connected back to a competency, making learning visible and meaningful. Educators then can provide feedback directly on that evidence. Using aligned rubrics, they validate growth, identify next steps, and support continued progress. This creates a deeply personal narrative of growth. This intentional mapping makes learning meaningful by grounding artifacts in measurable skill development.
What you can start doing tomorrow:
- Begin with Strengths. Have students take the Strengths Assessment to unlock their top 5 unique, innate strengths and “genius.” This shift from a deficit-based mindset to a strengths-based perspective immediately increases engagement by showing students they are valued for what they do well.
- Establish a weekly Well-Being Check-In (60-90 seconds) to capture real-time data on how students are feeling and functioning, prior to starting academic instruction.
- Use the Connections Tool to map baseline relationships with students taking note of any student in the “distant” zone.
From the classroom to the district office to state government, I have learned that redesigns succeed when they start with students, not mandates. Thrively is not a program, it’s the prerequisite and concrete, scalable way to translate research findings into daily practice that improves learning, belonging, and futures for every student.
Call to Action: If you’re leading a district or school, consider piloting the Strengths Assessment in one grade or grade-level, pairing it with a weekly Well-Being Check-In, and launching the Connections Tool in two departments to co-create a cross-disciplinary collaboration. Then model and share results with the broader system to sustain momentum.
We know what to do. Let’s commit to a human-centered redesign for high school that operationalizes the conditions for learning (Strengths, Well-Being, Hope and Connections) for every student’s launch point. I’m energized about the possibilities and look forward to engaging with you.
Click HERE to connect with me!
Your partner in humanizing learning,
Dr. Marion Smith Jr.
Chief Learning Officer