Coaching For Academic Success

Coaching for Academic Success (CFAS) aims to help students build executive function skills, the foundational learning skills that ultimately lead to academic and personal success. Through executive function training and advising, we empower students and individuals of all ages, abilities, and academic levels to become more effective and independent learners.

Our mission is to improve executive function skills through our unique approach and skilled coaches. Coaching for Academic Success employs a mentoring and tutoring model that emphasizes the individual needs of each student. Our coaches and students often form positive and close, working relationships based on mutual respect, accountability, and a desire for success. Through the unique, student-coach relationship, students are taught executive function skills and learning strategies. Students and coaches are also able to explore other barriers that may be interfering with their academic success.

The immediate goal of coaching is to improve the individual’s motivation, self-esteem, study skills, assignment completion, while lessening parent-student conflicts related to academics. Our long-term goal is that students master core executive function skills to achieve academic and personal independence.

Our team of coaches provides flexible, customized, one-on-one coaching in the home, which allows students to work comfortably in their own environments. Based on the student’s needs, our coaches will provide executive function training and/or academic assistance.

CFAS improves:

Students

CFAS students are school-age children, teens, and young adults who attend public and private schools. We work with bright and talented individuals who are struggling to fulfill their potential due to inefficient and ineffective study and work habits. CFAS coaches empower students to study smarter and develop foundational study skills that lead to academic success.

CFAS Coaches work with individuals who struggle with:

We work with:

Coaches

Based on the student’s needs, our coaches will provide executive function training and/or academic assistance. CFAS Coaches come from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds. Before working with students, all coaches are trained in executive function training strategies developed by Dr. Housson. All coaches are empathic and thoughtful individuals who have experience working one-on-one with students. CFAS coaches value confidentiality, are selected through a screening and interview process, and complete a thorough background check prior to hiring.

Our coaches will work with you and your child on these executive function skills:

• Task Initiation
  • CFAS Coaches will help you or your student implement strategies to overcome procrastination and avoidance behaviors, skills to improve study habits, and prioritize skills for homework and studying.
• Academic Skills
  • CFAS Coaches will introduce self-monitoring skills, time-management strategies, and self-advocacy skills.
• Organizational and Planning Skills
  • CFAS Coaches will implement a plan to get you or your student organized. This may include the introduction or use of a planner, calendar, or task apps, and/or the introduction of an organization system at home for current and past school assignments. Our systems are designed to be functional and tailored for the student. In addition, coaches will show students how to better utilize their school-based learning management systems (e.g., RenWeb, Moodle, Blackboard, etc.)

Executive function skills are the skills we draw upon to set and achieve our goals. These skills develop through mid-adulthood, which is attributed to the development of the prefrontal cortex area of the brain. The prefrontal cortex controls and regulates higher executive abilities, attention, and memory.

More specifically, executive function skills include:

Traditional education is adept at teaching curriculum, but many institutions do not have the time or resources to teach these essential, executive skills. Because digital devices have permeated our daily life, these skills are not developing as fully as they once were.

Thankfully, these skills are flexible. We like to compare the development of executive function skills to physical health. You would not run a marathon without training and running shorter distances first. Developing executive function skills is similar. They are malleable and can be cultivated and strengthened across the lifespan. Executive function skills are developed through practice, and the more they are used, the stronger they become.