Great Schools Help Kids Grow

Great Schools Help Kids Grow

Last week, we celebrated Arbor Day and it got me thinking about growth. It’s incredible to me that every living thing has the ability to grow.

Scientists have shown that our brains can change and grow, even in adulthood. Neuroplasticity is the scientific word used to describe this growth. It refers to the connections between the cells in our brains. And, like any other muscle, the more we use it, the more it grows; the more we challenge ourselves, the more we strengthen our brains.

As a parent, I encourage my daughters to grow their brains and I don’t care how they do it – skiing, coding, reading, writing, math, music, or even, like we did last week, planting a tree. Fortunately, they attend a charter public school that provides them with wonderful opportunities to cultivate and strengthen their brains in and out of the classroom through rigorous academics, character development and community service activities that help them develop a keen understand of the world around them. Best of all, their great school is teaching them how to learn so that they can grow and thrive throughout their lives.

Speaking of Arbor Day, congratulations to Frances DePhillips for being the Grand Prize Winner of the Idaho Forest Products Commission Arbor Day Photo Contest. Frances, a middle schooler at Sage International School of Boise.

View all of the winning photos and honorable mentions by clicking here.