Growing Scholars is Here to Make a Difference
-
We are here to help with school habits and to improve a child's behavior.
​
-
We promote social and emotional growth and academic achievement by teaching students essential skills and creating accountability for success. We teach strategies for student success.
​
-
Kids (and their parents) learn to establish positive attitudes, healthy habits, and independent routines that foster success in the classroom and for life.
​​
-
We also motivate high-achieving and gifted students to go beyond what they thought possible, developing higher-level critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills.
​
Why I started Growing Scholars
As a teacher, I recognized that some students thrived in my classroom, and others didn't. Some kids needed more support with their habits and routines, and some required more challenging and complex learning activities than I could provide during the school day. Seeing a child move on at the end of the school year without achieving the remarkable success I knew they were capable of was heartbreaking. The reality of changes in student development and progress after the COVID-19 pandemic is evidenced for some in lower standardized test scores and poor classroom behavior. Many students suffer and cannot regain the momentum and desire needed to engage and work through these setbacks. So I started Growing Scholars to change that.
~Kathleen Losi, EdD
"Terry told us that he really likes Growing Scholar sessions with you and we are not surprised but happy that it works for him."
~parent of a current Growing Scholar student
About our Teaching sessions
-
All sessions are virtual and in real-time
-
Learn from the convenience of home
-
One-hour sessions with small group-size (private, one-on-one sessions are also available)
-
Opportunities for peer collaboration, reflection, personal goal-setting, developing independence, & growth
-
All sessions have been created and are taught by Dr. Losi
"Dr. Losi made a comment about how many kids in the gifted and talented program never reached their full potential and that stuck with me. I want [our son] to have all of the tools to succeed on his own with us as back-up instead of us driving the bus.
~parent of a current Growing Scholar
Hi, I'm Kathleen
Founder, Creator, and Developer of "Scholarly Habits"
My education and teaching experience align with my passion for empowering children with the tools they need to succeed in the classroom and for life. I earned a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Doctor of Education in Leadership at Concordia University, Irvine, to develop my expertise in researching, creating, and writing curricula I teach during Growing Scholars sessions. I have taught in the K-12 world for 25 years, at the middle, high school, and elementary levels, where I spent almost two decades. I have certification and years of experience teaching gifted and talented students and twice-gifted kiddos.
About Social and Emotional Development in kids
​
Growing Scholars aims to improve a child's potential for success at school and home by teaching essential skills that promote the development of a positive attitude, healthy habits, and independent routines.
Essential skills include:
​
-
- Students understand that their goal is to be the best version of themself. Therefore, we celebrate each child's uniqueness and recognize their beautiful brilliance while emphasizing that they learn to give their best effort throughout life's activities. During sessions, students learn and apply Purpose in lifeThe Cycle of GrowthTM to improve their behaviors, habits, and routines.
​
-
Habit Awareness and Improvement - At Growing Scholars, we believe that life today is the sum of our habits. Therefore, a child's success or failure in school is directly related to their habits. According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (2018), "habits are the small decisions and actions you make each day. Your habits ultimately form the person you are, the things you believe, and the personality that you portray." We believe you grow as a person and scholar when you improve your habits. When you learn to change your habits, you can transform your life. We teach students to be aware of their habits and change those creating obstacles to becoming the best version of themselves. When they do this, they improve their success at school and home.
​
-
Social and Emotional Awareness - Students are taught to successfully manage social or emotional situations that they may find troublesome or difficult using the Triangle of TriumphTM. In an emotionally challenging moment, they learn to 1) hit pause and take three deep breaths, during which time they, 2) feel and identify their emotions, and 3) consider their options and select a positive plan of action to manage the situation. For example, suppose a child is feeling confused in the classroom. In this case, they learn to pause and identify what they are feeling, perhaps uncertainty about an assignment or a teacher's directives, and think about how to resolve their feelings by considering and choosing a positive remedy learned during sessions in Growing Scholars, in this example, raising their hand to ask the teacher questions for better understanding. We also focus on the following topics to improve a child's social and emotional awareness and acuity, including how to effectively communicate with adults, friendships and positive peer pressure, all behaviors attract attention, gratitude, empathy, and life balance.
​​
-
Developing a Growth Mindset - At Growing Scholars, we embrace the research by American Psychologist Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, The New Psychology of Success (2006), on the critical nature of mindset and the importance of developing a growth mindset. According to Dweck, how a child views themself profoundly affects how they live. Therefore, through conversation and practice, students learn to embrace a growth mindset - acknowledging that growth occurs through successes and failures. Both are necessary parts of learning; however, they teach us differently. For example, we use powerful positive phrases like "I'm working at it" instead of "I'm horrible at this" or "I'll figure this out" instead of "I can't do this." "Do I have to" is replaced with "I get to" and "I'm not smart enough" with "This will take some time?."
​
-
Goal Setting - We teach students the why and how to set goals using the SMART goal strategy by asking, is the goal specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely? Students are taught to write down their goals and action plan to achieve them. Research shows that three percent of the population set goals, and only about one percent write them down. The findings of a study by psychologist Gail Matthews (2015) demonstrate that writing down goals attributed to the success of 33 percent of the participants. Therefore, students learn to formulate a plan for their goal/s and write them down. This practice is designed to increase the student's likelihood of success with their goal/s and establish successful habits. For example, if a student sets a big goal to get on the Honor Roll for the grading period, they are taught to set small goals that will lead to routines and habits that support them in achieving success. Small plans may be written as checklists or schedules created by the student to help them focus and stay on track.
-
Reflection - Heavy emphasis is placed on the skill of thinking. Students learn to pause and evaluate their actions and learning by reflecting on what is working for them and contributing to their success and what is not. We encourage students to reflect often. Reflection comes from writing in their journal and conversing about their experience. This is often the most common time for students to have "aha" moments. When they reflect on their choices and make connections with the outcomes, learning takes place.
​
-
Revision - After students understand the powerful skill of reflection, they are taught to revise: zero in on what is not working for them and change their goal strategy before implementing the new plan.
​​
At Growing Scholars, we aim to motivate all students, including high-achieving and gifted students, to go beyond what they thought possible by engaging them in opportunities to think deeply, create, and problem-solve.