What We’re Thinking About
We love sharing ideas and information that will help build better places to learn and work.
Know Thyself: Self Awareness is Important in Leadership
In the blog post “5 Reasons Self-Awareness Matters for Leaders,” Mary Ryerse of Getting Smart gives five solid reasons why self-awareness is important in leadership: Self-awareness is a core leadership competency Self-awareness makes way for […]
The Practice of Leadership: Defining Direction
Our Character Strength of the Month for January is Leadership. It is no coincidence that we selected this character strength as our theme at the same time we launched our 5 to Thrive School Culture Challenge. January is […]
Finding Five Minutes to Thrive
We are just two weeks into the new year but this is typically about the time when I find myself re-considering all those good intentions I had on New Year’s Day. No matter what I […]
The Five Minute Challenge
Mayerson Academy is issuing a challenge to education leaders to dedicate five minutes each day over the next month to engage in simple activities that will reframe their thinking and improve the culture in their […]
Two Secrets to Energize Your Culture in 2017
It might be a new house, new day, even a new Moleskine, but especially a New Year. Each presents the hope of creating new possibilities. Of course the opportunity to create new possibilities is with us […]
Learning to Lead Through Parenthood
The strength of the month for January is Leadership. According to VIA: “If Leadership is your top strength, you excel at encouraging a group to get things done and preserving harmony within the group by […]
Spirituality and Finding Your Personal Sense of Meaning
by Karen Graves
I have before me the daunting task of writing about spirituality. Sense of meaning. Finding purpose in something larger than ourselves. In my mind, kind of up there with creating world peace and reversing climate […]
Positive Education Summit: Bringing Together the Best in Positive Psychology and the Best in Education
We are very pleased to share that Stiller Family Foundation has awarded a $ 1 million gift to Champlain College’s David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry to plan and convene a national Positive Education Summit that […]
Strengths with a Twist: Resilience in Haiti
by Karen Graves
In late October, 2016 I joined a team of Americans who flew to Haiti to build homes, hand out food, and sort donations and supplies through an organization, BeLikeBrit Foundation. Each afternoon and evening I […]
A Time For Thanks
by Karen Graves
Unlike our mammalian counterparts, humans are unique to suffering because we have language that gives voice to our many challenges. In fact, humans appear to be the only sentient beings on the planet that have […]
Grateful and Pushing for Change
“You live in a world of rainbows and unicorns” my father has said to me on more than one occasion, commenting on my never-ending drive to make the world that currently exists match the idyllic […]
5 Simple Tools that Help Students #choosekindness
It takes all of us working together every day to create a country that is hopeful, inclusive and big-hearted. Educators know they play a uniquely catalytic role in the lives of learners. Children learn who they […]
Choose an Attitude of Gratitude
Here at Mayerson Academy, we use gratitude every week. We use strengths spotting cards. We are encouraged to fill them out and give them to colleagues as we notice them using their strengths. They make […]
There Are No Silver Bullets: 3 Levers for SEL Success
Myths are common in education. The most persistent is the silver-bullet myth. You know, the one that goes something like, “If we just do _____, we will fix education.” No matter what fills in the […]
Plugging in with Purpose: SEL in a Blended Learning Experience with Happify
With “Plugging in with a Purpose: Students Dive Deeper into SEL Through Blended Learning Experiences with Happify,” Mayerson Academy published the last of a 7 case study series surrounding Thriving Learning Communities work started in […]
Thriving Learning Communities Work Featured in Education Week
In a just published article, Online Gaming Platform Aims to Teach Social and Emotional Skills, Education Week spotlights Mayerson Academy’s Thriving Learning Communities program – a personalized learning program that applies the science of character strengths […]
Teaming for Impact: Collaboration Multiplies Benefits
In “Teaming for Impact: Collaboration Multiplies Student Benefits from SEL-Focused Program” teachers from Hyde Park School and College Hill Fundamental Academy reflect on the Thriving Learning Communities (TLC) work implemented last year. This recent case study […]
Superhero Character Strengths on Parade at the Ravenna Balloon-A-Fair
Brown Middle School in Ravenna, Ohio, one of our 9 Champions Institute grant recipients, recently took home 1st place in the Youth Float Division and received the Trustees Award for Originality at the annual Ravenna Balloon-A-Fair. […]
Spot On, Carol!
Some days we get it right, some days we don’t, but at Mayerson Academy we aim every day to act in ways that brings out the best in our work and our interactions with one […]
Crawl out of the Cave and Be Brave
When faced with a difficult situation, I typically experience an overwhelming desire to crawl into a cave and hibernate until whatever it is passes. Living as long as I have, however, has taught me that […]

Join Our First-2-Know Email Group
Want to stay informed about all the ways Mayerson Academy is building better places to learn and work? Subscribe to our First-2-Know email group and receive updates on programs, classes, schedules and opportunities near you.
Thank You To Our FY22 Donors and Sponsors











