How To Deal With Your Teen’s Low Self-Esteem

By Angela Matthews
Guest contributor

Mental health struggles continue to be a top public health concern. Struggles with self-esteem can even metastasize into more serious issues like depression. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 12.8% of teens aged 12 to 17 experience a major depressive episode over the course of a year. A number of factors contribute to these conditions in teens, and these factors do not discriminate against gender, race, or socioeconomic classes. Poor self-esteem can stem from a number of sources, from fierce competition in classes to adjusting to new environments, bullying, college pressure, and now, social media. A study by the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health has even found that adolescents who spend over three hours a day on social media were more likely to internalize their problems. These include depression, anxiety, loneliness, aggression, and antisocial behavior.

It’s a vicious domino effect. When these feelings prove to be far too overwhelming, teens may instead turn to vices like drugs and alcohol to compensate for their lack of self-esteem. In the worst cases, anxiety and depression can lead to self-harm. Intervention from trusted adults then becomes necessary to ensure that teens still see a glimmer of hope ahead of them. Maryville University outlines the newly recognized connections between mental health and learning success, which is why parents, guardians, and educators need to step in and perhaps form a crisis intervention team when they see how the repercussions of self-esteem are detrimental to a teen’s future. There is a lot that these adults can do to reverse negative and toxic behaviors if they take the time to truly learn how their teens feel.

Provide kids with a web of support

Previously in 'New School Year and New Beginnings - 7 Tips for Supporting Teens', the concept of “Anchors” was discussed as a role to be fulfilled by caring and connected adults who can make profound impacts on the lives of the youth. It’s important for teens to feel that they have positive role models whom they can both emulate and trust when things get tough. Parents can meet with teachers, important figures, and other trusted adults to open lines of communication with their teens. It’s even more crucial to have this web of support as a fall back when their child refuses to open up about what’s going on in their lives. Having a web of support ensures that all bases will be covered for when teens need to talk about different aspects of their lives.

Celebrate little victories

High marks, medals, and awards are fundamentally linked to teens’ self-esteem and if they feel that they are lacking these, then they may develop a sense of helplessness and give up on trying altogether. Moreover, this heightens the chances of them comparing themselves to their peers who have these accolades. When teens focus on what they lack or what they are unable to achieve, they will continue to feel inadequate. To encourage and reinforce a better mindset, educators should focus on praising their efforts instead of just the outcomes. Since the outcome can’t always be controlled, it’s good to make them feel like the work they put into whatever they do is already a form of self-empowerment. This will also teach them to be kinder to themselves. Schools should also try not to make a big deal about rankings and numerical scores, but give credit where it's due for more encouragement and motivation.

Set reasonable expectations

A study by Arizona State University found that those who felt persistent pressure from their parents were twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression compared to those who didn’t. Parental pressure is good only to the extent that it keeps your children on the right track. This is why teachers should also work on instilling a foundation of self-worth, as it will help them cope with the pressure to succeed in academics and extracurricular activities. If this is secure, then external pressures will not be able to shake the sense of belief that teens have in themselves. For parents to set reasonable expectations, they need to redefine what success means to them, especially if their current definition has nothing to do with empowerment and happiness on their child’s part. Educators must also make it a habit to offer their ears and time if they notice a slip in a student's grades or any changed behavior. All teens may need is another person to talk to if they feel they can't get through to their parents. 

Encourage healthy and positive hobbies and passions

Schools may offer a breeding ground of potential for extracurricular activities. Boosting a teen’s confidence may mean encouraging them to go beyond their comfort zones to try some of them. These could turn into hobbies that also work as positive coping mechanisms and outlets for whatever negative emotions they are currently feeling. When they are able to make the slightest effort to try something new with a little bit of encouragement, then they may have the motivation to pursue it and unleash their potential. Alternatively, if they are already passionate about something, show them that they have your blessing and full confidence in them.

Find a middle ground between setting rules and allowing freedom

While many parents think that constantly looming over their children is the best way of ensuring their success, helicopter parenting actually works against them. A study by Florida State University found that these children were more likely to experience burnout and a rougher transition from school to the real world. When teens feel like they are being micromanaged, this further exacerbates feelings of incompetence and distrust of oneself. Letting them have too much freedom, on the other hand, will teach them that rules don’t apply. Find the middle ground between the two so that they learn to make their own mistakes, while still knowing that they have your support.

Most will agree that their teenage years were a complicated time filled with angst, transition, and confusion. This is why it is very important to help improve your teen’s self-esteem, as they are likely going through the same thing as you did whether you're a parent or an educator. There’s always hope and a silver lining if you commit to seeing it through, and helping them to be a confident young adult. Positive reinforcement is key to helping them on their journey to improving their self-esteem over time.

 Article contributed by Angela Matthews
Exclusively for brightwayslearning.org

PHlight Club: The Why from a Student’s Perspective

By: Caitlin Aspery

As a 16-year-old high school student, I believe PHlight Club is an event that everyone should experience at least once in their life. The first time I attended PHlight Club was the spring of 2018 at Klawock School. It was a three-day, two-night "lock-in" event, and I had no idea what I was walking into when I applied to attend.

“Flying” activity at Klawock PHlight Club

Entering the gym was overwhelming; there were so many people talking, hugging, laughing, and playing games. It was a lot to take in. I felt really out of place in the beginning, but within five minutes, someone befriended me. The following hours were a blur of people, trust falls, and lots of activities.

Speaking of trust falls, I was soon standing with my back to a group of strangers, about to fall into their arms with the hope that they would catch me. As I stood there questioning every choice I'd ever made leading up to that moment, a calming voice spoke to me. He was a student I had never spoken to before, assuring me that I wouldn't hit the ground and that I was safe. At that moment, a lot of my distrust in people melted away, and I allowed myself to fall backward. As I fell back, I felt a fear-induced pit in my stomach, but it disappeared the second I landed in the arms of the people who were there to catch me.

Before the end of the first night, the founder of PHlight Club, Derek Peterson, told a story. He described a girl with adults in her life who saw and treated her as though she was "broken." The girl spoke up and said that she wasn't broken. She explained that she needed support from caring adults in her life, called Anchors, who would encourage and guide her to reach her potential. The story made me cry, because I needed the same thing. For the first time in forever, I felt like I wasn't crazy for feelings I had been experiencing. It was a powerful night for me. It was one of the most influential nights of my entire life.

The rest of that weekend was amazing. I mean, it wasn't perfect by any means - I was exhausted, and I had lost my voice - but I was happy. Happier than I'd been in a very long time. Since that first PHlight Club in 2018, I've attended every PHlight Club since, a total of five. PHlight Club is a life-changing experience filled with inclusiveness, support, and joy. The youth who attend do not leave the same; they leave transformed.

It doesn't matter who you are or from where you come. At PHlight Club, everybody is loved and valued. As a PHlight Club veteran, I can honestly say that it is so much more than a bunch of teenagers doing activities in a gym. When you attend PHlight Club, you become a part of something bigger than yourself. You become a member of a family who will catch you during your hardest fall. You form lasting connections and friendships. You help unite students and adults to create happy and thriving environments and relationships. You empower other youth and your community. PHlight Club helped transform me from an insecure teenager into the confident, authentic leader I am today.

Caitlin is a junior at Hollis School in Hollis, Alaska

Connecting Colors and Community

STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN A PHLIGHT CLUB RETREAT AT SEELEY LAKE ELEMENTARY ON MAY 22 BY LIFTING THEIR CLASSMATE WYATT STOUT IN AN ACTIVITY MEANT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT STUDENTS CAN ONLY "FLY" WHEN THEY ARE SUPPORTED BY OTHERS. - PHOTO BY ZOIE KOOSTRA, PATHFINDER

SEELEY LAKE - Strings, anchors, balloons, the colors of the rainbow: To hear students and teachers talk about the Kaleidoscope Connect program's lessons sounds like listening to attendees of a New Age carnival. But to the seventh and eighth graders at Seeley Lake Elementary, each color and code word represents a concrete aspect of what each student needs in order to be resilient and healthy.

Kaleidoscope Connect is a program Seeley Lake Elementary uses to help middle school-aged students build resiliency and healthy relationships. It is intended to strengthen the services the school can provide by providing students with the tools to develop good relationships with stable, healthy adults.

The program has been in place in Seeley Lake for two years, but it is still in its beginning stages. It's been shown to make a difference in students' mental health too, but once they move on from middle school, students no longer receive education in the program.

Jacquie Brown, an assistant professor of psychology and a researcher on a project studying the effects of Kaleidoscope Connect in Seeley Lake and other small towns said rural youth can have higher rates of depression and substance use than youth in urban communities. This can be due to distance from health care resources, the negative stigma surrounding mental illness, poverty and isolation.

"Although there isn't necessarily a formula, years of research in the area of resilience has emphasized the importance of youth-adult relationships," Brown said. "The program that we are implementing in Seeley Lake focuses specifically on building youth-adult relationships both within and outside of the school setting."

Angela Harris, Seeley Lake Elementary's director of student support, selected the program because of its proven success in other rural communities, especially in Alaska. She saw a lot of similarities in the disadvantages students face in the two states, including isolation from mental health services. However, Harris said small towns in both states have strong relationships between people, which Kaleidoscope Connect builds on.

"This is how we can enhance [those relationships] so the youth can see that we do have people right here for them," Harris said.

The program doesn't require any special preparation or skills. Adults participate in training and receive curriculum tools from Brightways Learning, the publisher and facilitators for the Kaleidoscope Connect program.

The Kaleidoscope Connect curriculum pairs key ingredients for resiliency with a color and a symbol. For example, red symbolizes the need for healthy relationships with five trusted adults. These adults are called "anchors."

The other ingredients include tangible and intangible needs that anchors can provide for students to lead a healthy life. The tangible needs include a safe home, food to eat and appropriate clothing. Intangible needs can be things like a sense of humor, positive attitude and faith. These are symbolized by "strings," which connect with the anchors to form a "web" of support for a student's sense of self and resiliency, symbolized by a balloon. The balloon is a symbol for a student's resiliency, what makes each student strong.

These positive symbols can be affected by other things, however. Scissors represent anything in a student's life that can make "cuts" to the strings that tie them to their anchors.

Phlight Club retreats, based on the Kaleidoscope Connect curriculum, reinforce the students' understanding of these concepts through games and team building activities that connect to different pieces of the metaphor.

The eighth grade class at Seeley Lake Elementary is the first class to have gone through the full Kaleidoscope Connect curriculum. This means they have participated in multiple Phlight Club retreats as well as learning more deeply about the skills it teaches in health class on a bi-weekly basis.

Chase Haines, 14, says that his experience in the program has helped him develop more trusting relationships with adults and has also made Haines and his friends re-evaluate some of their relationships with other students.

"You might think 'I can have friends who do certain things and I can be friends with them without doing those things' but the truth is, you kind of can't," Haines said. "Look at what friend group you're in and if it's a bad situation, it's okay to start again."

According to Brown, previous studies have found that when young people have effective adult support, they exhibit decreases in problem behaviors and increases in social and school engagement.

Other students agree that support from adults has helped them make better choices in social environments. Tara Cahoon, another eighth grader, said that although it can be difficult to leave a friendship that isn't healthy, the trusted adult anchors in her life have helped her make those choices.

"It's a lot harder than it sounds,'" Cahoon said. "It's a lot more helpful [to have adults around] just to talk it out and because they can understand both sides. They'll help you make the right decision."

Although Seeley Lake resident Rachel Homen homeschools her children, she volunteered to be an adult participant in the program. She learned about the program after talking to Harris, the school counselor, about a student who was potentially in an abusive situation.

"[Harris] said they were in the process of learning how trauma is affecting the kids in school," Homen said. "That's when she invited me to the first Phlight Club. They're trying to bring this program into the school so they can help kids [who faced trauma]."

Homen chose to bring her daughter to the Phlight Club retreats. She feels the skills taught in Phlight Club are valuable to all youth.

Many youth, like Homen's children, who participate in the program already have a strong support system at home. However, it also gives kids who may not have good role models a chance to learn more about healthy relationships.

"For these kids that come from trauma, and a lot of them do, they have never had any sort of say in anything," Homen said. "When you grow up in abuse, you think that's normal. You think that it's normal to be treated like crap. You don't know there's another way until someone teaches you."

Originally, the program was an optional summer retreat, first offered in the summer of 2016. Now, Kaleidoscope Connect's main tenets, symbolized for students' easy retention by the colors of the rainbow, are a regular part of the school's health curriculum. Phlight Club retreats now occur during the school day and are held twice a year.

"We wanted to implement it as part of the curriculum so it wasn't just a camp they could participate in, but to try and expose youth from all different walks of life to these concepts," Harris said.

Seventh and eighth graders at Seeley Lake Elementary go to health classes every other week, where the Kaleidoscope Lessons curriculum covers topics ranging from healthy relationships to self-care and healthy eating. Although students at Seeley-Swan High School also attend health classes, the curriculum is not related to the Kaleidoscope Connections program.

Harris does not see this as an ending to the program's ability to benefit students.

"I think the concepts [of the high school curriculum] are the same," she said. "We need to do work in the future on what the connection look like. We just have to make extra efforts to connect the dots between the schools' programs."

So far, the program is showing results. From the fall of 2016 to the fall of 2017, students in the program increased the number of adults they considered to be "caring and connected" from 4.4 to 5.5. The students also reported that the number of tangible and intangible benefits of their relationships with those adults increased in the same period. This means that the overall resiliency of the students increased as well.

According to Harris, the annual surveys the school conducts of the students showed an increase in the students' average percentage of connectedness with adults from 49.7 to 65.3 percent. The percentage of students who reported a school staff member as one of their anchors increased from 18.1 to 21.3 percent.

Eighth-grader Sara Stevenson identified her mom, a woman from her church and Harris as some of her adult anchors. She said she has noticed the adults already present in her life more and was able to get to know them better after being encouraged to do so by the program.

"Before, it was mostly my friends who I relied on," Stevenson said. "It's good to have those, but it's also good to have adults to help you. It's like a weight lifted off my shoulders, because I know there's someone to help me."

Stevenson's ability to rely on adults in her life fit the goals of the program exactly.

"Through programs like this we're opening up the channels for kids to navigate the difficult decisions they're making daily," Harris said. "We live in this world where technology is at our fingertips but socially it's difficult to ask people for help. This is giving them tools to really use those relationships to become successful."

Article and photo by Zoie Koostra from Seeley Swan Pathfinder

PHlight Club helps POW students learn life skills while having fun

Listen to Amy's interview HERE.

A couple times a year, students in different parts of Prince of Wales Island are locked up together for three days. It’s PHlight Club, a program that aims to increase kids’ ability to cope with challenges and improve their support system.

ROY G BIV is the common acronym for all the colors in the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Those colors also represent seven components that PHlight Club – spelled with a “PH” rather than an “F” – works on with kids.

Amy McDonald is a facilitator with Brightways Learning, a nonprofit that coordinates PHlight Club events in Alaska. Speaking from Thorne Bay School, she described what each of the colors represents.

Red is the “rule of five.” McDonald said all kids need at least five caring, connected adults in their life.

“Oftentimes, teenagers don’t have five caring and connected adults,” she said. “We celebrate whatever they have. If they have one, we start with one.”

Those adults don’t have to be relatives. So, McDonald said they decided to call those adults “PHamily,” with a ph, rather than an f. That PHamily makes up a student’s anchors. The connections – anchor lines, so to speak — are represented by colored strings.

Prince Edwards Island PHlight Club

“Orange is tangible strings. Tangible strings are things like safe home, safe school, nutritious food, appropriate clothing. So, things you can see, smell, taste, touch, that you know you have or don’t have,” she said. “Yellow are intangible strings, which are more of those values, like curiosity, respect, or sense of humor or faith.”

More strings mean a thicker, stronger web of support.

Green represents the balloon students sit on in the middle of their web. Different factors determine how big that balloon is. Girls generally maintain their connections longer. And more social people have larger balloons.

“That means, not that you’re the most popular person, but that you’re comfortable walking into a room full of people,” she said.

A natural sense of curiosity also increases a balloon’s size, along with an optimistic attitude, and the ability to recognize your own strengths.

Blue represents scissors, which are things that happen in life that cut your strings and weaken the web of support. Indigo reminds students to show their appreciation to their caring and supportive adults.

“And then violet is social norms. Social norms in our story are like wind. If it’s a positive social norm, it can blow and lift your web up,” she said. “If it’s a negative social norm, it can blow and blow your web apart.”

McDonald said they focus on the positive norms, and ways to amplify those within a community.

Whew. That’s a lot of really important, deep stuff; how do you get kids to participate in something like that?

Well, McDonald said, you make it fun.

“We lift people up and fly them around the gym, we do trust falls, lots of relay teamwork, kind of team-building activities that are really fun,” she said. “And for our small rural schools, we start sometime on Thursday, stay up until midnight or 1 a.m., get up early in the morning Friday and do it again, get up early in the morning Saturday and we’re usually done by Saturday afternoon. So it’s a lot of really fun time with a whole bunch of kids and adults who are excited to be there.”

Some of the kids on Prince of Wales have been to six or more events, she said. And while they initially came for fun, they came back to learn.

“Then they’re actually like sponges, right? Learning all that stuff about finding more anchors, adding more strings,” she said. “Kind of looking at the world with a different lens, we call it a full-color lens. So they can set their futures up for success.”

The most recent PHlight Club was this fall in Hydaburg. They’re planning another one on the big island this coming spring. McDonald said there have been around 10 so far on Prince of Wales. And they don’t just work on POW.

“Galena, and then YKSD, Project Grad, which is part of Kenai; Chatham School District, which is Angoon, Gustavus, Klukwan and Tenakee Springs,” she said. “And then we’ve done a few elsewhere like Houston High School outside of Wasilla, we’ve done one; we’ve done a couple in Ketchikan, Russian Mission.”

And a few out of state.

McDonald recalls a couple of specific students whose lives were affected by PHlight Club, one dramatically.

“We had a girl here a few years ago who had been sexually abused in a community prior to moving here. Very traumatic. She was very withdrawn, contemplating suicide” McDonald said. “She started to come to PHlight Clubs. Her mom made her come at first. She will attribute PHlight Club to turning her world around.”

McDonald said that young girl learned to trust adults again and learned how to advocate for herself. That girl is now in college.

Another participant – a boy – is naturally independent and has a really big green balloon. But because he relied on himself so much, his web wasn’t very strong.

“The first time he failed at something, he realized how much a web of support was important to him, because when he failed he was all by himself,” McDonald said. “(He) had to really work at finding people and finding other avenues in order to get back up on his feet again. Had he had that web of support built prior to that, he thinks it would have been easier to step back up.”

McDonald said it’s not only youths who are struggling that benefit from PHlight Club; all kids – and even adults — would benefit from more support in their lives.

PHlight Club has organized a couple of events in the Ketchikan School District years ago as part of Challenge Day. They’re working with some local organizations to offer another event in Alaska’s First City.

New School Year and New Beginnings - 7 Tips for Supporting Teens

As the new school year begins, we have the opportunity to support youth in new ways and see them in full-color. Caring and connected adults (Anchors) can make a profound difference in the lives of youth. Here are some tips to support students in and outside of a school setting:  

1. Be present to deepen connections with the teens you Anchor

Work to deepen the connections between you and the teens you already Anchor by amplifying what is right and strong about them, celebrating them in ways that are meaningful to them, and by working alongside them on projects that you both choose.
 

2. Amplify what is right and strong about teens

Practice looking for the strengths within teens. When you see strengths, point them out, in words, letters, social media posts, or any other way that is meaningful to the teens.
 

3. Let teens know you will never give up on them

Adults are important influencers on teens and knowing that the adults in their lives believe in them and are there for them unconditionally is powerful!
 

4. Make an effort to reach out and celebrate teens

Move out of your comfort zone by introducing yourself to the teens in your neighborhood, school, faith community, and/or youth-serving organization.
 

5. Involve teens

Look around you. If there are are no teens on your committee, in your work environment, in your meeting, or in your midst, change that! Invite them in, and create an environment where they want to stay.
 

6. You (yes, that’s you!) have what it takes to Anchor teens

Never give up on yourself. YOU are the adult. Become an Anchor. You can do it and it will make a difference!
 

7. Encourage and support your co-workers, friends, and family members to see teens through a strength-based lens

Share the Web of Support with others around you and show them how easy it is to make changes in the community by Anchoring teens.

Strong in Every Way

For Kris Devereaux, Chief Academic Officer, and her colleagues at Zionsville Community Schools in Indiana, strengthening the Social and Emotional competence of students throughout the district is a top priority. And they have invited Brightways Learning to help them reach their goals by implementing Kaleidoscope Connect’s Integrative Youth Development (IYD) framework. 

IYD is a strengths-based approach that teaches adults how to focus on what is right with youth and help kids build Webs of Support by identifying key individuals (Anchors) who provide authentic caring and high expectations. This, in turn, builds resilience, equipping youth with the SEL skills, attitudes, values, and confidence they need to thrive amid life’s challenges.
 
The district’s journey to improve SEL – and to integrate IYD – began about a year ago. The administrators, led by Superintendent Scott Robison, began working closely with their K-12 counselors to learn how they could better meet the needs of students at all levels. 

“Something that became very apparent to all of us after listening to our counselors was that we really needed to strengthen the focus on the social and emotional aspects of our students,” said Kris. “Our district has done well academically for many years, but we realized we need to make sure we are giving the same attention to the social and emotional well-being of the kids.”
 
Superintendent Robison had learned about IYD after reading Helping Kids Succeed*, a handbook co-written by Derek Peterson, Youth Development Expert and partner of Brightways Learning. The book explains how the principles and practices of IYD have the power to change the trajectory of students’ lives by building support networks (Webs of Support) that cultivate caring and connected schools and communities.
 
Superintendent Robison gave the book to all counselors and administrators. And after reading it, the counselors agreed that this approach made sense for young people in Zionsville.

Strong in Every Way

Superintendent Robison then developed a human capital campaign called Strong in Every Way™ that included three pillars:
 

1. Developing Webs of Support

2. Developing assets and resources

3. Creating cultures of understanding

The district began putting the pieces into place. In addition to their commitment to IYD, they added Elementary Wellness 360 (PE + SEL), hired an Extended Experiences Coordinator at the high school to connect students with their passions, started a new Career-Based Experiences program, and provided Implicit Bias training for district employees. In addition, Zionsville changed school start times to match the research on adolescents’ need for school to start at or after 8:30 AM, and the district collaborated with The Gift Of Failure author Jessica Lahey to do community book studies online and in person, and to have Lahey visit the district to provide professional development for teachers and a public presentation attended by more than 800 parents.
 
With help from funds awarded by a Lilly Endowment Implementation grant, Kris and six of her colleagues attended a presentation given by Derek at the University of Indianapolis in spring of 2017. “Derek’s presentation confirmed that IYD absolutely aligned with Dr. Robison’s vision and the campaign we were developing,” said Kris, “We immediately booked Derek to kick off the campaign at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year.”
 
Grant funds were also utilized to send four people – Dr. Amanda Slonaker, clinical neuropsychologist for the district; Lynn Kissel, the district’s Community Development and Residency Specialist; and two community members and parents, Erin Bivans-Johnson and Amie Peele Carter – to Phases 1 and 2 of Kaleidoscope Connect’s IYD Academy in Edmonton, Alberta last May. 
 
The Academy qualified them to train others in the district to share the IYD story so that all parents and community members understand key IYD concepts like: being an Anchor to students, throwing and catching supports (strings), being aware of events that disrupt the Web (scissor cuts), and expanding a young person's abilities, talents, and resilience (growing the balloon).

Three months later, on August 3, 2017, the district formally kicked off the Strong in Every Way™ campaign faculty and staff training, with Derek leading an action-packed day! 

Beginning early in the morning, and lasting well into the evening, Derek delivered hands-on IYD workshops and keynote presentations for nearly 2,000 people including all district administrators and staff members, students, parents, community members, and guests from surrounding communities. 
 
“It was an amazing, motivating day,” exclaimed Kris. “Derek exceeded our expectations. He reminded everyone that we are here for the kids, and instilled the importance of coming together as a community to build strong Webs of Support for our youth.”
 
As the new school year begins, the district is continuing to infuse the principals of IYD into their faculty, staff, Board, and key parent volunteers. Zionsville will continue sharing information about Anchors and Webs of Support with community organizations, places of worship, students, parents,  and community members. 

“I was interested to see how the first day of school, just five days after Derek’s kickoff, might feel or look different than it has in years past,” said Kris. “I immediately saw evidence that Derek’s work with the staff had a direct impact on the lens through which we are viewing students.
 
“As I visited the various schools, I found so many teachers taking time to really get to know the students. They weren’t just focusing on curriculum or talking about rules and procedures, but engaging the kids in interactive, getting-to-know-you games and activities.  

“At one school, all students wore nametags so anyone who saw them in the hallway could call them by name. And several teachers were doing Derek’s “balloon-bop” activity with kids, talking about the importance of strong Webs of Support and not letting any of their classmates fall through the cracks. It was very impactful.  
 
“One student who had worked with Derek was in the hallway while a brand-new student was receiving a tour. She immediately walked over to the new student, introduced herself, and asked the student to introduce himself. ‘I’m here for you,’ she said. 'If you see me in the hall be sure to wave.’ It was very touching to see that Derek truly got through to the kids who participated in the kickoff. 

“Parents commented that in the past they received forms to get just basic information about students at the beginning of the year. This year the forms asked questions like ‘what does your family like to do together?’, and ‘what can you tell us about your child’s resiliency and grit?’ Parents felt that the schools really wanted to get to know their kids.  
 
“And we know kids are bringing it home with them. A parent contacted me and said that she was thrilled that her son was using the Webs and Anchors language, even referencing several of them during a family game night.”

So What’s Next?

The district has applied for a Lilly Endowment grant that, if awarded, will help fund their four-year plan, including building in measurements to gauge success with longitudinal data. 
 
“Not all of our plans are dependent upon the grant,” said Kris. “Whether or not we are awarded, we plan to continue reinforcing throughout the year what we have learned. But if we do receive the funds,  Derek will be our first phone call so we can continue to have him work with students and staff for the next four years!”

Derek and the team at Brightways are excited to work with the Zionsville students, staff, and community to help make their Strong in Every Way™ campaign a success. “We look forward to supporting Zionsville’s vision,” said Derek Peterson, "and working alongside them to build a caring, connected community with resilient students and the adults who are equipped to support them."
 


*Helping Kids Succeed--The Hastings Way, published in 2014, was written by and for the people of Hastings, MN along with Derek Peterson, partner of Brightways Learning and creator of IYD.