Sample Challenge Success Member School Conference Application:

Dear School Principal,

 

We are pleased to invite you to apply to our Challenge Success Annual Fall Conference in October 2010 at Stanford University. Now in its seventh year, with over 70 participating schools, the Challenge Success program addresses the concern that adolescents are often compromising their mental and physical health, personal values, and commitment to learning as they try to contend with the pressure for high achievement in U.S. schools. 

 

Friday evening October 15^th will include a free plenary session open to the public featuring nationally acclaimed speakers and child development experts, including Dr. Michael Thompson, Dr. Madeline Levine, and Dr. Denise Pope. Saturday October 16^th will include a full-day conference for a small number of middle school and high school teams to address issues of health and engagement at their sites. Enclosed you will find a packet containing more information on the Fall Conference, including logistics, fee schedule, conference topics, and an application. 

 

We are currently inviting school teams of six to eight stakeholders to submit an application to participate in the Saturday conference. Selected teams will attend a Friday night reception from 6:30pm to 7:30pm before the public plenary as well as the Saturday workshop sessions designed for schools to develop strategies to counter academic stress. Additionally, each local team will receive a Stanford “coach” who will offer guidance to the school for several months following the conference as the team continues to develop plans to reduce student stress and increase engagement with learning. School teams then re-convene in May at our Spring Conference to assess the strategies that have been implemented and to discuss plans for the future.

 

We ask that interested schools complete the one-page application below. School teams must include the principal, and at least one teacher, one parent, one counselor, and two students. In addition, we ask you to describe your school’s need to address academic stress and the motivation to implement strategies developed from attending the Challenge Success conference. Please complete and return the application no later than April 1^st. We will notify you with our decision by April 10^th.

 

Due to increased interest, this year we may not be able to accommodate every team that applies; however, all schools are invited and encouraged to attend the free Friday evening plenary. We look forward to facilitating a discussion around school stress and strategies to enact positive change. We hope to have you and members of your school in attendance to consider with us how to best cultivate adolescents’ health, well-being, and continued commitment to learning in our community.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

The Challenge Success Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application for Challenge Success Fall Conference

 

School Information:

School Name:   _____________________	Address:   ______________________________   ______________________________	Phone:   ____________________
District (if applicable):	School’s Grade Levels (circle one)
_____________________	5 to 8      6 to 8      7 to 8      9 to 12       Other ____________________

 

Team Information:

Please indicate the members of your school team below.* You should include at least six but no more than eight participants. The first six members (principal, teacher, parent, counselor, and two students) are required to complete the team. Fill in the school role for the remaining members you select (e.g. vice principal).  For students, please include grade levels next to their names.

 

Team Member Name	School Role	Email	Phone
1.	Principal
2.	Teacher
3.	Parent
4.	Counselor
5.	Student #1
6.	Student #2
7.
8.

 

*Note that by submitting this application ALL team members are agreeing to attend the Friday night plenary in October, the Saturday session from 9am to 5pm, and a Saturday session from 9am to 3pm at the Spring Conference.

 

Please consider the following questions (Answers may not exceed 2 pages):

 

1. Describe the interest and need at your school for participating in a conference on adolescent academic stress.  How are issues surrounding academic pressures in your community unique from those of other school communities?

 

2. During the conference your team will work together to devise strategies to address academic stress at your school.  How would you describe your school’s motivation and capacity to implement these strategies?

 

Please return the application no later than April 1^st by mail, fax, or email.  Conference payment instructions will be sent upon admission to the conference.

Mailing Address:	Fax:	Email:
Challenge Success Conference School of Education 485 Lasuen Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3096	(650) 725-7412 Attn: Challenge Success Conference	info@challengesuccess.org