You will hear the term, “Champion Mindset” repeated throughout the program.  It refers to supporting each child to think like and become a champion – building confidence so that test administrations do not become an overwhelming obstacle to successful performance.  It was developed and expanded by psychologists, educators and lawyers who all experienced the infamous “freezing” for examinations and yet, overcame that to become “Champions” in their own right and professional area.  This program is NOT a replacement for traditional content preparation, nor is it exclusive for students – young adults and professionals have used this program to be successful when sitting for professional examinations.  The success of this program is pivotal on the entire school community embracing the concepts and supporting the children.   As any good program, it is a work in progress; meaning that the development of this program is ongoing as we learn new ways of providing successful experiences for our children.  

The use of any program, software package, or curriculum is only as good as the person(s) delivering the message or lesson.  The use of The Exam Performance Program is no different.  As an administrator, demonstrating support for the program is crucial for staff members to use it for the betterment of student progress.  This program does NOT replace sound instructional practices, it supports them.   The greater school community must understand the program, its value and use and its place in providing the necessary support for the students.  After all, we are all in this to ensure that our students succeed.   Providing valuable time for staff members to understand and incorporate the program is quintessential to its success as a tool for our children’s success.  We all understand that teachers must provide solid lessons to ensure that learning environment to support students to a successful end.  There is more to teaching than just delivering the lessons.  We must embrace and address each student’s social emotional needs to produce champions in the classroom and beyond.  The precepts of this program are not exclusive to the classroom environment; they will support the students as they progress through school and into their chosen careers.  School examinations are only a part of the support progress.  As young adults they may have to face professional examinations as many of us did.  As you work with your staff to ensure that our students’ become overall champions, please feel free to apprise us of your experiences so that we may incorporate them in future editions, or share best practices with other schools and school districts that choose to utilize this program. 

Secondary to the for-profit activities of our company, we have a social-giving campaign which is at the core of our company.  Our business strategy is predicated on a social giving strategy to help improve motivation, self-efficacy, academic achievement, testing performance and STEM opportunities for students in TRiO and Gear Up programs, which include support low-income, minority, female students and foster care students.  It is a passion of ours to help improve student achievement and testing performance as a way of giving back to society, especially to help those students who are "Waiting For Superman"; we help students learn how to "tap their own inner Superman" by helping them develop a "growth mindset" where they re-image themselves as a "Champion Student" with a "Champion Mindset", an achiever who believes in his/her abilities and capabilities and sets a positive example at school, on the field, and in their community. 

The Exam Performance Program is also of special interest to teachers and educators because it (i) improves coping skills for test-anxiety, (ii) improves student self-confidence, motivation and engagement (ie, self-efficacy), and it (iii) helps counter "stereotype threat" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat , eg., "I'm not good at math because I'm Hispanic" or "I'm not good at science because I'm a girl").  Stereotype threat is of particular interest because of its well-documented negative impacts in low-income and minority student populations that are currently under-represented in STEM fields.  We recently completed live in-class presentations of the program to students at the 2016 LAUSD Young Men of Color Conference, Santa Monica College's Upward Bound Program (low-income and minority high school students) and First Star (foster-care high school students), students who oftentimes suffer from extreme motivation issues.  We received positive comments from all students and program administrators.  

See our LAUSD workshop video:  https://vimeo.com/165531407  

See our TRiO and Council For Opportunity in Education video: https://youtu.be/I-jkfcruHno