When a classroom of fifth-grade students sat down to take a big test, each child was met with a personal message of encouragement printed on top of their desk.
Teacher Chandni Langford wrote the notes by hand with dry-erase markers, giving each of her charges in in Woodbury, New Jersey one last dose of confidence before they would dive into a test that measure their progress toward college and careers.
Personalized for each student so they would “resonate”, the messages included:
“Kwydir, Learning is your superpower! Remember, never stop trying, and never stop growing your brain!”
“Yovani, I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it! Do your best!”
“Lis, Remember, there is no elevator to success, you must take the stairs! You got this!”
The messages were in line with the “growth mindset” education concept followed at Evergreen Avenue Elementary School—the idea that hard work and dedication can bring students the same successful results as intelligence and talent.
“So many of my students have shown tremendous growth over the year,” Langford told .
“I wanted to make sure they know I’ve noticed.”