Mission Statement:
Our mission is to intentionally and positively transform the lives of students from economically challenged backgrounds by addressing the achievement gap through a holistic approach. We empower parents, implement specialized and innovative practices, and inspire hope, success, and academic engagement. We provide teachers with proven, teacher-friendly, and classroom-ready best practices that drive student success. Our goal is to reshape the educational system so that parents are actively involved, students feel empowered and fully engaged in their own academic journey, and administrators embrace and support systemic learning and growth.
Our mission is to intentionally and positively transform the lives of students from economically challenged backgrounds by addressing the achievement gap through a holistic approach. We empower parents, implement specialized and innovative practices, and inspire hope, success, and academic engagement. We provide teachers with proven, teacher-friendly, and classroom-ready best practices that drive student success. Our goal is to reshape the educational system so that parents are actively involved, students feel empowered and fully engaged in their own academic journey, and administrators embrace and support systemic learning and growth.
A Holistic Approach to Closing the Achievement GapA 16-year Ongoing Independent Research Project
Since 2007, the Institute for Student Empowerment has spearheaded one of the most comprehensive independent research initiatives, examining the attitudes and behaviors of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Our mission is to understand their motivation—or lack thereof—to connect a quality education with their future financial and overall well-being. Our Big Idea: How effectively are school districts helping students from poverty-stricken backgrounds, who lack academic role models, connect education to financial independence? How can we expect a child to fully engage in a process they don’t see as valuable? When students fail to recognize the value of education, it often leads to disengagement and academic decline. Our extensive work with students from diverse, underprivileged communities has given us deep insights—both observational and data-driven—into the attitudes and beliefs that hinder growth and proficiency. Through a process of cognitive reshaping, we introduce a new academic paradigm where education is quantified, and information is viewed as a pathway to financial empowerment. The success of our work has been well-documented by district personnel and national news coverage, along with student, parent, and teacher testimonials. Our Four Areas of Impact:
Parent Empowerment "You cannot expect a parent, who harbors ill-feelings about education, to automatically feel good about a system she does not trust. A part of your parent "Involvement," should, therefore, include "Parent Empowerment," and "Cognitive-Reshaping." Wes Hall, CEO, Institute for Student Empowerment. During a session with a Superintendent, and his teachers, we witnessed an interesting exchange. The Superintendent, was trying to help his teachers understand the value of calling each of their parents, via telephone. There was obvious push-back, both subtle and audible. The teachers viewed the calling of each parent as another task being piled upon their already full desks. Our research revealed, the more challenging the student, the more necessary it is to develop relationships and allies. The parent must become the teacher's ally. And, oft-times it is the role of the teacher to help the parent understand that dual-partnership. Our parent "Empowerment Sessions," inspire parents to get involved in the academic excellence of their child. Through a process we deem, "Cognitive Reshaping," we shift the academic environment from adversarial, to advantageous. We walk parents through a few simple processes that includes their personal and professional development. We help the parent understand the importance of, "Co-Evolving," with their child, and why life-long learning on their part, provides a visual that speaks much louder than words. Click here to learn more about our parent engagement workshops Teacher Development: Our years of classroom observation have uncovered consistent patterns of behavior that fuel power struggles, disciplinary issues, absenteeism, disengagement, and ultimately, dropout rates. The #1 factor contributing to negative student-teacher interactions? A lack of effective relationship-building. Traditional relationship-building training often falls short when it's framed as a way to "force" teachers to bond with students. Our workshops take a different approach—they are teacher-friendly, classroom-ready, and tailored to the full range of responsibilities that teachers face daily. We respect the demands on educators' time and design our programs to be practical and adaptable. Understanding that behavior modification training is often minimal during teacher credentialing, we incorporate targeted strategies that help teachers identify, address, and redirect challenging student behavior. Our workshops empower teachers with the tools they need to foster positive relationships, creating environments where both students and educators thrive. "I should have received this training much earlier," A teacher, who went through our training. While we are naturally "relational" beings, that doesn’t automatically make us expert relationship builders. When teachers receive professional relationship-building training, they become far better equipped to handle classroom challenges, reduce the personal stress and trauma that come from negative encounters, and consistently create positive outcomes with their students. With the right training, teachers can transform their classrooms into environments where both they and their students excel. For more information about our 'Relationship Building, workshops Click Here Click file below to read a letter from a principal, who participated, with his team, in one of our sessions. ![]()
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Student Empowerment: The "Flawed Assumption"
Our research has identified a deeply rooted flawed assumption in education: “Just because a student shows up in your classroom does not mean they understand the value of education or how the system of education works,” says Wes Hall. An example of this misconception unfolded when an African American male student asked Mr. Hall, “Mr. Wes, is a scholarship money?” Before answering, Mr. Hall paused and posed the question to the 30 other young men in the room. To his surprise, none of them knew the answer. When he probed further, responses ranged from “admittance to college” to “no, it’s not the same as money.” This simple yet critical misunderstanding of something as basic as the monetary value of a scholarship revealed a much larger issue: our students had not grasped the real-world value of education. How can we expect students to compete or push themselves for something they don’t fully understand or appreciate? Too often, we assume that children know how the education system works and how to use it to advance themselves, when in reality, many are simply going through the motions. Our empowerment sessions are specifically designed to meet students where they are, providing them with insights and strategies that strengthen critical thinking and problem-solving skills. These tools are essential for making the connection between a quality education and their future financial well-being. Our success in shifting students' perspectives on education, and its profound impact on their future, comes from years of engaging with and structuring information in ways that resonate with youth from impoverished communities. While it may seem that the gap between at-risk students and proficiency is vast, in reality, all that is required is a shift in focus and motivation. By tapping into financial triggers, we unlock the realm of possibility in every student. We present real-life examples that illustrate how education and information lead to wealth—whether it’s showing how an MBA attracts more income than a high school diploma, or explaining how a rapper transforms lyrics (information) into a product that generates money. For many students, this becomes an authentic “ah-ha” moment, transforming their outlook on the value of education and igniting a newfound motivation to succeed. Our Curriculum: Transforming Education Through Research and Cognitive Reshaping Our comprehensive research project allowed us to closely observe student-teacher interactions, design targeted survey questions, gather direct feedback from students, and analyze the resulting data. This empirical approach gave us deep insight into how students truly perceive education and where disconnects occur. The findings revealed a critical need for cognitive reshaping in several key areas of academic development. To address these challenges, we applied backward design to create a specialized curriculum tailored to reshape mindsets and close the engagement gap. Our curriculum includes a textbook, study guide, and a range of supporting materials, all designed to tackle the specific trouble areas identified in our research. This carefully crafted approach empowers students to not only understand the value of education but also connect it to their personal growth and future success. Click the link below to review a synopsis of the curriculum. System Building: A Holistic Approach to Transforming Academic Achievement Our holistic approach to empowering students academically—while identifying the barriers that hinder growth—has provided us with valuable insights to help not only students but also educators, parents, administrators, and the entire educational system learn and evolve. This deep understanding led us to introduce a groundbreaking concept to an administrator within the Los Angeles Unified School District. We believed this approach would not only elevate student achievement but also align seamlessly with the district’s goals for academic success and measurable outcomes. By addressing the needs of both students and the system, we aim to foster lasting improvements in educational performance and equity. The first phase of our system-building strategy was the launch of a groundbreaking "Conference Series." We pioneered the district’s inaugural "Young Men of Color Conference," bringing together 300 young men from campuses across the district. These young men had the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, hear from inspiring guest speakers, and participate in enriching workshops designed to foster personal and academic growth. The conference series featured prominent guest speakers, including Doc Rivers, Head Coach of the LA Clippers, and Kareem Grimes, actor from Boyz n the Hood. Our "Greatness Academy"The Greatness Academy is a curriculum-driven, evidence-based approach designed to re-engage disengaged students and close the achievement gap. This dynamic, cutting-edge framework is built on 16 years of classroom research with mid-to-high risk students. Our data consistently revealed behavioral patterns contributing to disengagement, absenteeism, and dropout. A key discovery was that many students failed to connect a quality education to their future financial and overall well-being.
By focusing on enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills—essential for making that crucial connection—we inspire students to view education and the acquisition of knowledge on a more personal, meaningful level. Once students begin to see education as a pathway to self-empowerment, they become more motivated to take ownership of their learning process. This proven best practice has successfully transformed self-proclaimed potential dropouts into re-engaged, credit-recovering students who have gone on to graduate from high school, unlocking a brighter future in the process. |
(C) Copyright Wesley F. Hall
A Message From Our CEO
Wes Hall
In 2007, I approached then-Superintendent Dr. John Mackiel with a straightforward yet powerful question: "How well are we, as a school district, helping economically challenged students connect an A on their report card to financial opportunity?" The Superintendent paused, looked at me intently, and I continued, "How well are we helping students link what they learn in class to something tangible, like a new pair of tennis shoes, or something they need to survive?" After a brief silence, Dr. Mackiel responded, "Wes, I don't think we're doing that." "I don't either," I replied.
I then shared my idea: a program designed to help students make that vital connection between academic success and real-world benefits. Dr. Mackiel agreed, and with his support, we set in motion the systems and personnel needed to bring this vision to life. |
That was 16 years ago. Since then, we have successfully helped thousands of students re-engage, recover credits, and graduate from high school. We've taken the insights gained directly from our students to equip teachers with strategies for understanding cultural norms and overcoming challenging student behaviors. In addition, we've empowered thousands of parents through the knowledge we’ve gathered from direct interactions, teacher testimonials, and student engagement.
When you start with the primary stakeholders—students—you can identify the barriers that lead to disengagement and create programming that is both specific and intentional. What began as an idea has grown into a proven fact, and that fact is maturing into a powerful truth. So, where do we go from here? Our latest initiative, "The Greatness Academy" elective course, allows us to deliver consistent, high-impact content to students while also measuring its effectiveness. The journey from pilot program to fully-fledged elective speaks to the relevance of our work. Our next step is to continue measuring impact—both qualitatively and quantitatively—focusing on three key areas: grades, behavior, and attendance. By 2028, we anticipate our model will be implemented in 20 school districts nationwide. Ultimately, our goal is to advocate at the Department of Education level to provide this specialized curriculum to every student who, through survey data, struggles to connect a quality education to their future financial and overall well-being. The future is clear: we’re on a mission to transform education, one student, one school, and one district at a time. |
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