Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School provides a world-class education for students, preparing them for long-term academic success and responsible civic engagement. ThinkGive is proud to partner with Dudley Street to bring social and emotional learning (SEL) programming to students, helping them develop confidence, empathy, and leadership skills.
We asked educators and students to reflect on the impact of ThinkGive. Here’s what they shared.
3rd-5th Grade Student Voices: What ThinkGive Means to Them
“I am kinder now, and when I am in a fight, I just walk away or tell the teacher.”
“I’ve learned that when someone is feeling sad I can help them.”
“ThinkGive helped me feel happier.”
After participating in ThinkGive, students reported significant improvements in their social and emotional skills:
100% said they were kinder to others.
100% felt more connected to classmates.
100% felt more confident in their ability to make a positive impact in their world.
Educator Perspectives: Seeing Growth and Connection
“At Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School, we believe that success is about more than academic achievement. We work intentionally to help our scholars develop the Habits of Mind and social-emotional skills they need to thrive both in school and throughout their lives. Through social-emotional learning, we help scholars understand and manage their emotions, build positive relationships, communicate effectively, make thoughtful decisions, and develop the confidence to navigate challenges. We want our scholars to become independent learners who persevere when things are difficult, use problem-solving and creativity to find solutions, and make choices that show respect for themselves and others. We also emphasize collaboration because learning and growth happen through meaningful relationships with peers, teachers, families, and the broader school community. Our goal is to help every scholar develop not only the academic skills to succeed, but also the self-awareness, resilience, empathy, and social-emotional skills to become confident, responsible, and engaged members of their community.” – Porter Houston, School Social Worker
“I loved having the opportunity to facilitate a group focused on kindness. The structure gave us a clear foundation, while still leaving room for flexibility when needed. Kindness is one of the most important lessons young students can learn, and it was encouraging to watch so many students grow over the year — becoming increasingly kind toward one another.” – Sarah Alexander, Intern
Why This Partnership Matters
“We’re deeply grateful to Dudley Street Neighborhood Charter School for the chance to be part of their work. Their mission—helping every scholar build both academic skills and the self-awareness, resilience, and empathy to navigate life—is bigger than any one program, and we’re honored that ThinkGive gets to play a role by bringing SEL to some of their students. Being able to support that mission through our programming, and to see it show up in real ways for students, means everything to us. None of it happens without educators like Porter and Sarah bringing this work to life every week. It’s a privilege to be part of their students’ growth.” – Penny Austen, ThinkGive Executive Director
Saint Theresa School is a recipient of the SEL for Every Child Fund, which provides full funding to implement ThinkGive’s SEL programming. If your school/organization serves a majority of under-resourced youth and lacks funding for SEL initiatives, find out if you qualify at thinkgiveproject.org/fund.
