“As we look to the future, we are excited to chart a path in which Thayer leads the way in defining and creating a forward-thinking learning environment that prioritizes students’ health and well-being while challenging them with a smart and modern approach to rigor in and beyond the classroom.”

Chris Fortunato, Thayer Academy Head of School

We Are One Guide

The resources listed below can be accessed to improve your school’s faculty/student connections to build a FOUNDATION for an environment that supports student mental health.

Stanley H. King Institute

“The Stanley H. King Institute offers a model of teaching, counseling, and listening skills to teachers, advisors, administrators, and other school personnel. Our goal is not to train professional counselors, but to help teachers strengthen and deepen their relationships with students. Participants learn to help students with a range of developmental issues, as well as to recognize serious psychological difficulty and seek appropriate help.”

Making Caring Common Project

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Resources for Educators

Relationship Mapping Strategy

“There may be nothing more important in a child’s life than a positive and stable relationship with a caring adult. For students, a positive connection to at least one school adult — whether a teacher, counselor, sports coach, or other school staff member — can have tremendous benefits that include reduced bullying, lower drop-out rates, and improved social emotional capacities.”

Challenge Success

Non-profit affiliated with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education

“We provide schools and families with proven strategies that promote well-being and engagement with learning in order to transform the student experience into one where all kids can create their own paths to success.”

Project Wayfinder

Stanford Institute of Design

“How can we reimagine adolescent education to develop a student’s sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging? Rather than recycle old solutions to curb student depression and anxiety, Wayfinder is addressing the youth mental health crises in a new innovative model.”

“A growing body of research shows that young adults are stressed not just because they have too much to do, but also because they don’t know why they’re doing it. That’s why Wayfinder’s goal is to support students to live meaningful lives. At the core, we help young people find purpose, a powerful antidote to the mental health epidemic plaguing our students.”

Center for Transformative Teaching & Learning

“Our vision is a world where every teacher understands how every student’s brain learns. The CTTL’s mission is to elevate teacher effectiveness, student achievement, and the whole child’s school experience using the most promising research and strategies in Mind, Brain, and Education Science.”

The Often-Overlooked Element that can Transform Your Classroom: EMOTIONS

“Students are undergoing intense growth during their school years: physical, social, and emotional. Their relationships with their teachers can be pivotal to their development. Depending on their situations at home, they may actually spend more quality time with their teachers than they do with their parents! This gives teachers a powerful opportunity to help shape their learning, sense of belonging, and self-regard … and even small changes can make a significant difference.”