Dawson’s Challenge Success Team attended a conference this past weekend at Stanford University to gather new ideas on how to better the learning experience back at home. The team represented a range of perspectives in the Dawson community and brought different skills of public speaking, brainstorming, and collaboration. Dawson stood out for their approach to making the school day consist of more than just classes, and other administrators were excited to hear more about our advisory and club system.

The team arrived at the conference on Friday afternoon, presenting new developments Dawson School has already made, such as the goal based English grading system, and an increased late start. The conference continued through the end of the day on Saturday where the team attended many workshops.

Chloe S. (25), Oliver M. (26), and Chayse R. (26) felt excited to bring all of their findings back to Colorado. Oliver, a junior, came out of the conference inspired and says, “The Challenge Success Conference is one of the first times | believed I actually do have a voice as a student and the adults are excited to hear from us. It was a great feeling. Being able to speak about my struggles in and outside the classroom and being assured that they were valid is the most hope I have felt for the education system in a long time.”

The Challenge Success team is scheduling a meeting to debrief their exciting findings and they cannot wait to keep working together to make a positive impact. At the airport on the way home, Dr. Hecox said, “if I had to pick just one thing that was a success this weekend, it would be that the kids had so much fun. It just makes me so happy.”