Leading School Districts Implement Curriculum to Enhance Student Purpose, Belonging, and Future-Ready Skills
BEND, Ore., July 30, 2024 (Newswire.com)
–
Wayfinder, a leading provider of social-emotional and future-ready skills curriculum, is excited to announce its expansion into four prominent school districts across the U.S. for the upcoming school year.
“We believe that schools can play a pivotal role in nurturing each student’s sense of meaning, purpose, and belonging,” said Patrick Cook-Deegan, Founder and CEO of Wayfinder. “The 300% rise in teacher engagement with our lessons this year underscores the urgent need for purpose-driven education. Our partnerships with these exceptional school districts are a powerful response to the mental health challenges facing our youth. Together, we’re addressing critical issues like absenteeism and digital citizenship, ensuring every student feels valued and empowered to navigate their future.”
Wayfinder’s continued growth includes partnerships with the four school districts highlighted below.
Hawaiʻi Department of Education, HI — The Hawaiʻi DOE is sponsoring a statewide effort to provide a custom version of Wayfinder accessible to all of Hawaiʻi’s 55 middle schools and alternative learning programs. The DOE is also supporting schools that have existing Wayfinder implementations for various grade levels. Inspired by the traditional art, science, and practice of Polynesian wayfinding and developed in collaboration with Hawaiʻi nonprofit Education Incubator, Wayfinder is providing a Hawaiʻi-focused version of its curriculum that brings together purpose development, future-readiness, and local context. Wayfinder aligns to Nā Hopena A‘o, a statewide framework of six core values often abbreviated as BREATH: Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well-Being, and Hawaiʻi. Wayfinder is deeply proud to support Hawaiʻi educators as they preserve, honor, and elevate the unique qualities of Hawaiʻi.
Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines, IA — Des Moines published a request for proposal and vetted many programs before ultimately choosing Wayfinder. District leadership cites the quality of ongoing support and resonance of the curriculum as significant factors in their selection of Wayfinder. Five thousand teachers and 33,000 students across the district’s 65 schools will experience Wayfinder in the coming school year. The district will also use Wayfinder’s Education on Purpose professional learning series to allow district leaders to focus on facilitation capacity and social-emotional learning skills.
Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, MN — Minneapolis is implementing Wayfinder’s comprehensive offerings across 80+ K-12 schools serving 30,000 students. The district chose Wayfinder because the curriculum aligns with its values—including emotional well-being, relationships, trust, communication, and evidence-based strategies. Flexibility and resonance were also cited as primary factors in the decision. All district counselors access Wayfinder’s assessment tools and lessons, especially for targeted and intensive student interventions. The district is planning a multiphase rollout strategy over two years to maximize student support and educator skill development, carefully monitor usage and assessment data, and provide targeted support for counselor caseloads.
Cumberland County Schools, Fayetteville, NC — Cumberland County Schools serves the world’s third-largest concentration of military-connected students. The district offers Military Family Life Counselors, Student-2-Student Programs, and Military Family and Youth Liaisons. Wayfinder’s comprehensive programming will reach 25,000 students across 51 elementary schools. All students will experience Wayfinder’s Core Curriculum, and counselors will use additional resources for small group and individual interventions. Two Cumberland high schools will also pilot Wayfinder.
Alyson Finley, Director of Student Services at Des Moines Public Schools, said, “Our district chose Wayfinder because we believe the curriculum ensures all students, regardless of background, feel seen and valued. The materials require minimal prep time and allow educators to focus on what matters most: our students. When meeting with Wayfinder staff, we could feel their genuine commitment to our district’s success. They are not just selling a product; they are true partners in our educational journey. They empowered us to tailor the scope and sequence to our diverse district’s needs, and they created a solution with us that truly and authentically serves our students and staff.”
The districts above are just a few of many additions to Wayfinder’s list of schools and districts. Wayfinder’s presence has grown significantly from coast to coast over the past two years. During the 2022-23 school year, 34 districts in Oregon used the curriculum—in 2023-24, this number more than doubled to 75 districts.
Dawn White, Ed.D., a Content Lead for Minneapolis Public Schools, shared why her district selected Wayfinder after a lengthy decision-making process: “Wayfinder ensures continuity of learning across all schools and grade levels in our district. In looking through different options, we appreciated that Wayfinder’s lessons are age-appropriate and relevant at every developmental stage. The tools meet the needs of our multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) structure, and we felt this was a culturally responsive social-emotional learning curriculum across K-12. Our students speak 100+ different languages and represent rich cultural backgrounds. This curriculum fosters student belonging and a sense of purpose through a culturally responsive lens.”
Kristy Newitt, Counselor Coordinator for Cumberland County Schools, stated that Cumberland is excited to move forward with Wayfinder. “We recognize the importance of social-emotional learning being utilized throughout the school and not just held within the Student Services departments. Wayfinder’s platform is allowing just that. Our teachers will now have direct delivery of tier 1 lessons through morning meetings, which will allow stronger relationships to be built between students and teachers, and students and students. Additionally, through the use of their Waypoints data, our school counselors and school social workers will be able to offer data-driven small groups.”
Wayfinder has served students from over 65 countries across the globe, including major U.S. districts such as Omaha Public Schools, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Portland Public Schools, and The School District of Philadelphia. This year, they received the highest possible program designation from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the highest possible Learning Rating from Common Sense Education.
The Wayfinder team looks forward to serving hundreds of thousands more students this school year.
If your state or district is interested in partnering with Wayfinder, please contact the team to schedule a call.
Source: Wayfinder
