An E3 Strategy for Student Success : Inside SBISD's Parent U
In SBISD we know that it takes a village. We're committed to engaging, empowering and educating our parents and families to be active partners in student success. Our
E3 Framework (known as Family E3) affirms the role each play in the service of children.
This month, we're showcasing SBISD's Parent U Programming. Parent U is a series of learning events featuring special guest speakers on a range of topics.
Click here to learn more about upcoming Parent U events.
On October 24, 2017, Spring Branch ISD families and mentors learned about Grit and Growth Mindset: The Missing Piece.
The session, led by Mandy Benedix, Mentor Volunteer Specialist and Grit Facilitator for Pearland ISD, defined grit and explored how fixed and growth mindset connect to student outcomes.
Benedix’s work on this soft skill started in one class at one middle school in Pearland ISD.
It has since grown to every student in Pearland ISD interacting with grit through a carefully constructed, yet flexible, Grit Curriculum Benedix created with Pearland ISD’s Curriculum Department.
“It has been amazing to see how the program has grown over the years. To think it started with my principal making a bold decision to think differently,” Benedix said.
Spring Branch ISD is also no stranger to thinking differently.
As the first school district to apply to be a District of Innovation, the system values placing the needs of Every Child first. For many students, soft skills such as grit may be the missing piece they need to reach the district’s T-2-4 goal.
Grit burst onto the national education landscape when Angela Duckworth gave her now famous Ted Talk on the subject. In it, Duckworth defines grit as “working hard toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.”
Since then, countless articles and publications have taken a deeper dive into the topic. Several school districts are even adding grit as one of its measures of success.
In Spring Branch ISD, grit is not a standalone measure.
Instead, Spring Branch has created multiple measures for student success: enrollment in postsecondary education (T-2-4), postsecondary readiness, student growth, advanced coursework, and school connectedness. Each works with the others to ensure the system has a well-rounded understanding of how each student is performing.
Click here to review SBISD's multiple measures.
Given the large-scale impact of Hurricane Harvey in the Spring Branch community, many children and families may find themselves facing high levels of adversity for months or even years to come. Benedix stressed resiliency would be even more critical for students whose environments may be changed physically or emotionally as a result of the historic storm.
Praising effort, not talent; teaching children to use the word Yet to describe failure, and matching words with actions are a few tangible strategies to support grown mindset Benedix shared with the group.
“For grit, it’s not about grades, but growth,” stressed Benedix who expressed a need for students to understand the journey and not just the outcome.
The session by Benedix was one of a series of Mini Parent U presentations offered throughout the school year. For updated Parent U Programming, visit the
Parent U webpage.
Are you interested in being part of the SBISD Vanguard Cohort III? The application window to apply opens on Friday, Oct.13.
Launched in 2015 as a response to the district’s desire to ensure all employees feel recognized and honored for their contributions and work, the Xtra Credit Program offers employees perks from local businesses in a range of services – everything from fitness and health to restaurants and real estate services.
