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NEWS & AWARDS

SEL

What Educators Are Looking For In A Character Education Program

1. ✓Easy to teach and applies across all grades
   

1. ✓A common language that connects students, staff, and families
   

1. ✓A way to reduce bullying and build empathy
   

1. ✓Fits naturally with PBIS and SEL
   

1. ✓Tools students can use every day
   

1. ✓Simple to teach and make it your own, teachers don’t need to learn a new curriculum to bring it to life

Why Schools Love Harper for Kids Program

1. ✓Simple and Proven — “It just makes sense. Kids get it.”
   

1. ✓Intrinsic, Not Extrinsic — “It helps students take pride in their effort and believing in themselves.”
   

1. ✓PBIS + SEL Aligned — “It fits right into what we’re already doing.”
   

1. ✓School-wide Impact — “You can see the difference in behavior and kindness towards one another.”

Helping Educators Address Today’s Challenges

For Their Students

Educators told us they’re facing more challenges than ever, from managing behavior to building strong character, effort and motivation.

Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success helps schools turn those challenges into opportunities for growth by teaching students that success comes from effort, attitude, and character.

What Schools Are Seeing:

1. ★Fewer office referrals and bullying incidents
   

1. ★More respectful, motivated students and improved attendance
   

1. ★Greater sense of responsibility, respect, self-control, and sense of belonging
   

1. ★Improved positive school culture
   

1. ★Teachers feeling supported with a simple, shared framework
   

“Teaching students about effort and character has changed the culture of our school.”

Principals and teachers across California and beyond have shared what they want most in Character Education: a calm, positive school culture; students who value effort and respect; and a consistent framework that brings everyone together.

Harper for Kids helps schools achieve those goals through Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success and his timeless definition of success:

HOME

Here’s what educators told us:

“It helps students understand that success is about giving your best effort, not being the best.”

“Simple, kid-friendly, and focused on doing your Personal Best.”

“It gives structure and meaning to the values we already teach.”

“You can see how the blocks build character.”

“Coach Wooden lived these values. It’s not theory, it’s proven.”

Educators see the Pyramid as a clear path for teaching life skills that last far beyond the classroom, connecting effort, attitude, and character to real success in school and life.

At Harper for Kids teacher workshops, educators explore each Pyramid of Success trait and connect it to their own teaching goals, bringing the program to life in their classrooms.

The Pyramid of Success brings all those goals together in one framework.

Harper for Kids School Partnership

When a school partners with Harper for Kids, we provide everything needed to bring Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success to life at your school. Our goal is to build a long-term partnership that supports your educators, students, and community.

To make the greatest impact, we look for schools that are ready to make Character Education a true part of their culture, not a one-time project or single-class activity. When the whole school embraces Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, students experience consistent messages about effort, character, and personal best in every classroom, every day.

What Our Program Provides:

1. ★Free access to Coach Wooden’s Character Education program, lessons, and classroom materials
   

1. ★Ongoing educator support and collaboration
   

1. ★Opportunities for schoolwide presentations and guest role models
   

1. ★Creative tools to integrate the Pyramid of Success into your school culture
   

What We Ask of Our Partner Schools:

1. ✓A school-wide commitment to teaching Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success
   

1. ✓Ongoing communication so we can support your goals and celebrate your successes
   

1. ✓Including Harper for Kids information on your school website to share your commitment to character education
   

1. ✓Occasional feedback from principals and teachers to help us learn and grow together
   

1. ✓A shared belief that when character education is a long-term investment, success happens when your whole team is “all in” together
   

Our strongest partnerships come from schools that share our belief:

“When students learn to give their best effort and build good character, success follows, in school and in life.”

Before getting started, we ask schools to determine if Coach Wooden’s message about success—focusing on effort, character, and doing your best—aligns with the goals for their students and the kind of school culture they want to build.

Join a Community of Educators

Schools across California and beyond are helping students redefine success, not by trophies or grades, but by effort, character, and being the best person they can be.

Please fill out our school inquiry form if you’re interested in our program and becoming a school partner of Harper for Kids!

By first learning Coach Wooden’s definition of success, students discover that true success isn’t about trophies or grades or being perfect, it’s about giving your best effort, building good character, and becoming their best selves.

Coach Wooden’s message helps students focus on what they can control every day: effort, character, and a positive attitude. Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success shows how traits like hard work, enthusiasm, friendship, loyalty, and cooperation help students give their best effort in order to achieve success.

This framework helps students see that every effort, no matter how small, is a step toward their Personal Best.

“Success is peace of mind which is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable of becoming.”

EDUCATORS