Growing Toward is life coaching and academic skills training for students of any level. We focus on the skills that help you feel and perform better in class and in life.

The point of school (whether high school, college, or grad school) isn't just to be good at school. It's to be better at life. It's to build new knowledge, new skills, and new experiences. The point is to build new capabilities which lead to greater opportunity. If you’re a parent, this is what you want for your child - greater capability, greater opportunities.

Not going as well as you hoped? You are probably missing some of the fundamental skills that school doesn’t teach. 

Transitioning from one academic level to the next can be one of the most pivotal and challenging times in your life. It can be a time of high stress and struggle, but also tremendous personal growth. It’s a time when you’ll be challenged to adopt new habits and attitudes. You’ll have to adapt fast and figure out what works best for you in a new situation. 
Unfortunately, many students, regardless of age, don’t manage the transition. Approximately 30% of college students drop out before their sophomore year. Only 66% of Masters students complete their degree in 4 years. Rates are even lower for a PhD (Grasso, 2007). This is to say nothing for those that succeed, but struggle needlessly due to poor academic strategies, lack of motivation, or failing to take care of themselves.
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For younger students, the stakes are even higher. Academic self-concept often drops during school transitions and sadly, usually decreases with age (Onetti, 2019). Tragically, students' love of school often follows the same pattern (Hattie, 2013).​​

You don't have to go through it alone...

Transitions can be tough, but you don’t have to go through it alone. I’m here to help. I’ve gone through the process myself, earning two Masters degrees and a PhD. In my job as K-12 teacher and academic advisor, I’ve helped many students and families negotiate academic transitions. If you want to successfully upgrade, here is a process.
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Learn a powerful tool for goal setting, planning, mindfulness, and self-reflection that most people have never heard of

Step 1 is upgrading your brain at the level of your operating system - your self-concept and how you pay attention. The tool you’ll use here is called the Noticing Tool or the ACT Matrix (Polk, 2016). The ACT Matrix was developed to increase psychological flexibility and adaptability. It helps you know your values and your WHY, which leads to increased motivation. It helps distance yourself from negative self talk which distracts you and zaps your energy. Finally, it helps you learn faster by giving you a way to self-reflect and figure out what’s working or not working. 
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Learn high leverage strategies for studying, productivity, and organization

What can you already do? What skills/capabilities do you need to add? You might need to upgrade how you organize your to-dos or schedule your day. You might need new, more efficient study strategies. Growing Toward teaches specific strategies for planning, organization, note-taking, and studying. In coaching, we spend time figuring out the most high leverage strategies for you.
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Learn an easier way to develop performance habits and routines

Most of us have an idea of the things we need to do to improve, but we don’t do it. Why? Part of the coaching process is translating new strategies and behaviors into routines and habits. By approaching these changes in the right way, you’ll be able to install them more quickly, more easily, and more sustainably into your life. ​

Learn the tools that many wish they had from the beginning.
​Schedule a free coaching assessment and get started now.

Sources
Grasso, Maureen, et al. “A Data-Driven Approach to Improving Doctoral Completion.” THE CGS OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES ON INCLUSIVENESS, vol. 2, 2007 University of Georgia and Council of Graduate Schools, Washington, DC, 2007, https://cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Paper_Series_UGA.pdf. Accessed 26 6 2021.

Hattie, John, and Gregory CR Yates. Visible learning and the science of how we learn. Routledge, 2013.

Onetti, Wanesa et al. “Transition to middle school: Self-concept changes.” PloS one vol. 14,2 e0212640. 20 Feb. 2019, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212640

Polk, Kevin L., et al. The essential guide to the ACT Matrix: A step-by-step approach to using the ACT Matrix model in clinical practice. New Harbinger Publications, 2016.

Wilson, Kelly G. The ACT matrix: A new approach to building psychological flexibility across settings and populations. New Harbinger Publications, 2014.
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