Drew Believes

This is the first issue of the new Drew Believes column, which we plan to publish quarterly. In it, we’ll highlight emerging research and insights in education, and share how Drew brings those ideas into everyday practice. We believe education is an evolving discipline, one that should stay closely connected to scientific discovery and responsive to the changing world our students are preparing to enter.

Dear Drew Community,

We are in full stride here at Drew, with beautiful weather lifting spirits and adding warmth to every interaction. There is a lot happening! 

Months of learning are coming to life in creative projects and real-world applications: Economics students presented deeply researched plans to revitalize the Oakland Waterfront to industry experts; Engineering students tested an ROV (underwater remotely operated vehicle) designed to collect microplastics in the JCC pool; and four Studio Art students won a city-wide competition for their anti-human trafficking campaign, which will be showcased on buses and kiosks throughout San Francisco. 

Outside of the classroom, student life leaders have just finished production on another fantastic 415 Festival, featuring 13 performances, four restaurants, and over 400 community members. My favorite moment was when our ASB Co-Presidents called everyone involved to the stage, and the platform overflowed with teenagers hugging and cheering. A wonderful tribute to our culture of contribution and to the students’ abundant talent and creativity!

I love this time of year because Drew’s culture of student agency and academic rigor really shine. Spring is a time when our students are stretched in many ways, and as students ramp toward peak performance, they need the support of teachers and staff more than ever. So it is with appreciation and pride that I look around to see teachers reaching out to students, not just during office hours, but also on the patio during free periods, or in 1:1 check-ins after school. In every corner of campus, I see Drew’s philosophy in action: balancing high expectations with high support: 

Being challenged is good. Being overwhelmed? Not so much.

If you know me, you know I take serious issue with the idea that academic rigor is synonymous with suffering. It’s no accident that we don’t throw our students into an academic pressure cooker. Research shows that toxic stress and overwhelm are significant barriers to learning, often preventing students from stepping more confidently into challenge and growth. Stanford’s School of Education points to the Yerkes-Dodson bell curve, where performance peaks at moderate levels of intermittent stress, but drops sharply into a "frazzle" state when pressure becomes chronic or overwhelming.  

“Stress is a normal part of learning and growing—but how schools and families respond makes all the difference in promoting student well-being and resilience,” said Dr. Denise Pope, Senior Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Educationand Co-Founder of Challenge Success. “By working together to create supportive environments and model adaptive coping, we can help students build the skills and confidence they need to thrive—both in and out of school.” (Challenge Success)

Students know that Drew teachers and classmates are in their corner, invested in their success and there to both challenge and support them. This is a key component in what researchers say encompasses effective educational support. Moreover, research from Harvard’s famous  longitudinal study on adult development, emphasizes the critical importance of relationships, mentorship, and connection upon student engagement and achievement.  When you feel cared for and when you yourself care, you are infinitely more free to dare. In other words, people who have strong ideas of their own self-worth and ability to succeed are inclined to see the expectations placed on them by others as opportunities rather than as threats. 

At Drew we build the self-knowledge, self-worth, confidence, and competence to serve students well beyond their four years! It’s why so many of our students are admitted to excellent colleges—and, more importantly, why they thrive once they’re there.

At Drew, we believe the goal of a great education isn't to see how much pressure a student can withstand—it's to see how far they can go when they feel genuinely supported. When students know they are known and not alone in the hard moments, they stop surviving their education and start owning it. Not a pressure cooker, but a launching pad…where students are stretched and challenged to do hard things without it feeling like hardship. And I’ll close with an enthusiastic plug to go see the incredible musical production of Hadestown this weekend: a perfect example of the impressive stretch and reach our students accomplish with the scaffolding and encouragement of mentors who believe in them. I am proud to see our philosophy in action, and I’m deeply grateful to the community of people who make it possible. Here's to all the good work that is going on, and to finishing strong together.

Saya