CLASSROOM CHAMPIONS INC

We engage students through one-to-many mentoring

Our unique one-to-many mentoring approach partners Olympians and Paralympians with in-class teachers across Canada to help engage at-risk K-8 students in a safe and enriched learning environment where they can measurably develop the critical social and emotional skills needed for success both in and out of the classroom.

Athlete mentors deliver monthly video lessons and also engage with students and their teachers through live video chats and our internal Classroom Champions network. Where possible, athlete mentors visit their classrooms in person. When students realize how much their athlete mentors care about them and their futures, a connection unlike any other takes place. The student experience becomes one of excitement and voice as students see their efforts and achievements being recognized and cheered on by someone they look up to outside their immediate circle of family and teacher support.

We train and support teachers throughout the year

Quality teachers are key to students’ success. Classroom Champions partners with teachers in underserved communities, where teacher training, engagement and retention are constant challenges, to provide opportunities for professional development and a feeling of community.

Teachers apply to be part of Classroom Champions and vigorously compete each year for a place in the program. Once part of the Classroom Champions ecosystem, our teachers enjoy best-in-class training, and support from our staff of education experts and experienced teachers.

We support families to bridge students’ learning from school to home

Many families of the at-risk student population that Classroom Champions serves find themselves in challenging circumstances that lead to low educational attainment and low social and emotional skills. At Classroom Champions, we understand how critical family engagement is to a child’s success. As such, we seek to help bridge student learning from school to home through community celebration events, specialized resources, and engaging our Olympian and Paralympian parents.

We train and support Canada’s Olympians and Paralympians

Classroom Champions provides the training and tools athletes need to make the transition from outstanding role models to outstanding mentors who can actively and effectively support students track their own path to success. Through this process, students gain a way to set and achieve successful goals and develop a sense of self-worth. Athlete mentors benefit too, with this type of professional development proving to be a valuable launching pad for athletes beginning to look for career options beyond world-class competition.

Giving kids a champion to help them

Many deserving young students in underserved communities face significant barriers to obtaining the critical skills they need for personal, academic and career success. Classroom Champions provides unique mentoring for these students, partnering Olympic and Paralympic athlete mentors with in-class teachers throughout the school year to help students develop essential skills in goal setting, perseverance, fair play, and giving back to community.

“The results speak for themselves,” says one of our teachers, noting her students’ increased collaboration, empathy for others and newfound leadership skills. This growing sense of community and mutual support is not limited to students. Classroom Champions provides ongoing professional development and networking opportunities for teachers and for our athlete mentors. As leaders in educational thinking around social and emotional learning, we also ensure a bridge in students’ learning from school to home through our specialized resources for families.

Locally, in Calgary, over the past four years, Classroom Champions has been a part of impacting:

1,300 local Calgary students and partnered with more than 45 local teachers with the help of over 17 Olympian and Paralympian mentors.
Teachers report increased attendance, improved behaviour and grades, and an improved classroom culture among other outcomes for Calgary students.
Students have participated in learning about goal setting, perseverance and, just as importantly, giving back to the Calgary community.
Calgary students, through Classroom Champions, have given back to the Veteran's Food Bank, Mayor's Food Drive, Animal Rescue Foundation, the local chapter of Women in Need Society and the Calgary Humane Society to name a few.
We're looking to expand our impact in the Calgary area, please visit our What You Can Do section to see how you can help!
Program- wide, over the 2015-16 school year, we’re pleased to say that we’ve been a part of impacting:

5,100 students in 155 classrooms mentored across 7 Canadian provinces and 23 U.S. states. (19,000 students mentored across Canada and the U.S. since program inception in 2011.)
With the help of 51 Olympic, Paralympic and college student-athlete mentors
Delivering 320 video lessons on critical social and emotional learning (bringing our total number to 814 video lessons) in partnership with 157 teachers sharing 1,000+ lessons and activity resources with their students and student families, and receiving 1,000+ hours of teaching planning and professional development.
This past year, teachers reported that, as a result of Classroom Champions, their students showed:

Improved personal responsibility for their behaviour (98%)
Improved grades (92%)
Improved attendance (89%)
Teachers reported that Classroom Champions helped them:

Engage their students (99%)
Made them more engaged in their work (99%)
Made them a better teacher (97%)
Athlete mentors reported that Classroom Champions helped:

Increase their leadership skills (100%)
Improve their ability to share their personal stories (100%)
Gave them a sense of having built a relationship with the kids in their classrooms (100%)