• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • The Harker School
  • Menu
  • Admission
  • Lower School
  • Middle School
  • Upper School
  • Summer
  • More
    • About
    • News
    • Alumni
    • Giving
  • News

  • The Harker News provides timely information, news and features about the Harker community to current and alumni Harker families.

  • |
  • General News
  • Lower School
  • Middle School
  • Upper School
  • Alumni
  • Summer
  • In the News

Challenge Success Program

December 20, 2011 by William Cracraft

Share this:

  • Tweet

This article originally appeared in the winter 2011 Harker Quarterly.

The Harker School has a long history of promoting the morals and character of its students, encouraging discovery of unique talents and passions and giving students opportunities to figure out who they are, and what they love. Recently, Harker added another dimension to its commitment to the whole student when the school was accepted as a Challenge Success partner.

  • Junior wins second prize in ENKOR music competition
    Read
    Junior wins second prize in ENKOR music competition

Sponsored by Stanford University’s School of Education, Challenge Success “challenges the conventional, high pressure and narrow path to success and offers practical alternatives to pursue a broader definition of success,” said Butch Keller, upper school head.

“Partnering with Challenge Success is a good
match for Harker. Their mission is to improve
 student well-being and engagement with learn
ing, so the work we are doing at Challenge Success is a reflection of our philosophy, in many ways,” added Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for student affairs.

As a first step, Harker sent a team of administrators, faculty, parents and students to a weekend conference in early October. They attended workshops and met with Harker’s Challenge Success coach, Erika Fur.

“Erika is really a facilitator and helped us identify and clearly articulate our own goal,” said Gargano. “In general, our goal is to promote educational excellence and intellectual curiosity while honoring who our students are and their needs at every stage of development. We will meet with Erika in January so we can flesh out the goal and discuss potential action items. Later, we will discuss any steps we need to take to ensure we meet our goal.”

The Challenge Success team will attend the spring conference at Stanford to assess progress at that point and plan for the future to achieve Harker’s goals to best help students help themselves. If you would like more information, you can visit www. challengesuccess.org. You can also read more about the Harker team in Harker News Online; search on “Challenge Success.”

Team members are Gargano; Cindy Ellis, middle school head; Melinda Gonzales, academic counselor; Rebecca Williams, middle school English teacher; Mala Raghavan, upper school chemistry teacher; Helena Jerney, parent (Cristina, grade 11 and John Nicolas, grade 8); Jenny Chen, grade 11 student; and Darian Edvalson, grade 10 student.

You may also like

  • Rising Ninth Grader in Top 15 Worldwide in Google Science Fair Competition – Vote Now!
    Rising Ninth Grader in Top 15 Worldwide in Google Science Fair Competition – Vote Now!
  • Update: Varsity Football Rolls to 6-0
    Update: Varsity Football Rolls to 6-0
  • Six Harker students named to all-state ensembles
    Six Harker students named to all-state ensembles
  • LID Grants Help Teachers Discover New Classroom Techniques
    LID Grants Help Teachers Discover New Classroom Techniques
  • Middle and upper school speech and debate teams get set for new season at annual retreat
    Middle and upper school speech and debate teams get set for new season at annual retreat
  • Middle School Dancers Earn High Honors at Competition
    Middle School Dancers Earn High Honors at Competition
  • Nichols Debate Tournament Welcomes 29 Schools
    Nichols Debate Tournament Welcomes 29 Schools
  • Nine Harker students named to All-State Honor Choir
    Nine Harker students named to All-State Honor Choir

Related

Filed Under: Schoolwide

Primary Sidebar

Search for Articles

Multimedia Features

  • Harker Research Symposium Video Earns Award
  • Into the Fringe: Conservatory Takes ‘Into the Woods’ to Edinburgh

Subscribe to Harker News via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Harker News and receive a daily digest of recent posts.

Delivered by FeedBurner

Trending Stories

  • Alumnus Justin Shamlou '11, remembered for ability to inspire, passes at 27Alumnus Justin Shamlou ’11, remembered for…
  • Harker speech and debate takes first place at UC Berkeley tourneyHarker speech and debate takes first place at UC…
  • Harker teams place high in regional DOE Science BowlHarker teams place high in regional DOE Science Bowl

The Harker Magazine

Published two times a year, The Harker Magazine showcases some of the top news, leading programs, inspiring people and visionary plans of the greater Harker community.

More Harker publications

About Harker

The Harker School is a non-profit, private K-12 school in Silicon Valley that has earned international recognition for its top academics, quality teachers and students' achievements. Founded in 1893, Harker is the largest independent school of its kind in California, with a dedicated campus for each of its divisions – elementary school, middle school and upper school – in San Jose, CA.

Learn more about The Harker School

Links

  • Harker Aquila
  • Preschool
    • Academics
    • Specialty Classes
    • Teachers
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Lower School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Middle School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Upper School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
    • Teachers
    • Students
    • Support & Services
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
    • Admission
    • Summer
    • About
    • News
    • Alumni
    • Giving
The Harker School

Copyright © 1893-2015 • The Harker School • 500 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129 • 408.249.2510 | Contact Us | Privacy Policy

  • Follow Us!
  • Admission
    • Request Information
    • Campus Visits
    • Applying to Harker
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Admission FAQs
  • Preschool
    • Academics
    • Specialty Classes
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Support & Services
      • Extended Care
      • Food Progam
      • Libraries
      • Summer Preschool
      • Transportation
      • Safety & Security
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Lower School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
      • After-School Program
      • Athletics
        • Coach Directory
        • Athletic Events
      • Character Development & Outreach
      • Global Education
        • Global Relationships - Sister Schools
      • Performing Arts
        • Performing Arts Teacher Directory
      • STEM
      • Student Research
      • Visual Arts
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Students
    • Support & Services
      • Food Program
      • Health & Wellness
      • Libraries
      • Safety & Security
      • Transportation
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Middle School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
      • After-School Program
      • Athletics
        • Coach Directory
        • Athletic Events
      • STEM
      • Visual Arts
      • Global Education
        • Global Relationships - Sister Schools
      • Performing Arts
        • Performing Arts Teacher Directory
      • Character Development & Outreach
      • Speech & Debate
      • Student Research
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Students
    • Support & Services
      • Food Program
      • Health & Wellness
      • Libraries
      • Safety & Security
      • Technology
      • Transportation
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Upper School
    • Academics
    • Programs & Extracurriculars
      • Character Development & Outreach
      • Performing Arts
        • Performing Arts Teacher Directory
      • Athletics
        • Coach Directory
        • Athletic Events
      • Visual Arts
      • STEM
      • Business & Entrepreneurship
      • Global Education
        • Global Relationships - Sister Schools
      • Speech & Debate
      • Student Research
    • Teachers
      • Teacher Directory
    • Students
    • Support & Services
      • College Counseling
      • Food Program
      • Health & Wellness
      • Libraries
      • Safety & Security
      • Technology
      • Transportation
    • Campus & Facilities
    • School Community
  • Summer
    • Summer Preschool
    • Summer Camp Plus: KinderCamp
    • Summer Camp Plus: Grades 1-5
    • Summer Institute Middle School
    • Summer Institute Upper School
    • English Language Institute
      • Program Details
        • International English Language Institute Brochures
    • Swim School
    • Summer @ The Conservatory
    • About
      • Eligibility
      • Summer Jobs
      • International Families
      • Summer Registration and Policies
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Philosophy & Mission
    • History
      • Harker's 125th!
    • Events
      • Family & Alumni Picnic
        • Admission Passes & Tickets
        • Alumni Guests
        • Schedule of the Day
        • Raffle
        • Silent Auction
        • Picnic T-Shirts
        • Donations
        • Sponsorships
        • Volunteer
        • History
      • Homecoming
      • Harker Concert Series
      • Harker Speaker Series
      • Harker Gala: Night on the Town
        • Community Sponsorships
        • Corporate Sponsorships
      • Harker Sports Clinics
      • Research Symposium
        • Student Abstracts
        • Corporate Exhibitors
      • Harker Alumni Gold Classic
    • Message from the Head of School
    • Board of Trustees
    • Facts & Stats
      • Student Achievements
      • Alumni Achievements
    • Sustainability at Harker
      • Nichols Hall: LEED Certified
    • Eagle Store
    • Staff Directory
    • Careers
    • Media Information
    • Privacy Policy
    • COPPA Statement
  • News
    • General News
    • Preschool News
    • Lower School News
    • Middle School News
    • Upper School News
    • Alumni News
    • Summer News
    • In The News
  • Alumni
    • Transcript Requests
  • Giving
    • How to Plan Your Giving
    • Annual Giving
      • How Funds are Spent
      • Gift Clubs
    • Capital Giving
      • About the Cornerstones Campaign
      • The Cornerstones Of Success Campaign: Phases 1-5
      • Gift Recognition & Namign Opportunities
        • Capital Giving Gift Clubs
      • How To Make A Capital Gift
      • Naming Opportunities
        • Performing Arts Center
        • Athletics Center
        • Paving Tiles
        • Bucknall Campus
        • Saratoga Campus
        • Policy
    • Endowment & Planned Giving
      • Endowment Policy
    • Volunteering
    • Donations and Pledges