4 ways to improve your home learning environment

Last month, NewSchools released a new resource titled “What Works: Lessons from High-Performing Schools.”

While this will be of interest to educators (or parents who want more context on what top-performing schools are doing), what struck me was how closely these four lessons align with the core elements of a strong home learning environment.

Let’s take a look.

Lesson 1: Focus Drives Excellence

Clarity of purpose and coherent design lead to lasting academic results.

I always tell my students that 1) we get results where we focus our energy and 2) clarity is power. These principles underpin so many strategies for better grades and more confidence, including:

• A simple, clear after school routine. The one I’ve found to be most effective is Check - Plan - Do: students explicitly and systematically check what they have coming up in each subject in their LMS (e.g. Google Classroom, Brightspace), plan out its completion in their own calendar, and then do the tasks.

• A mission-oriented approach to schoolwork. We want our teens to learn and work efficiently, not endlessly. Writing out their tasks on a sticky note, setting a timer and completing one task at a time gives clarity on where to start and helps build their capacity to focus.

Clarity at strategic (what’s my overall plan?) and tactical (what’s my first step/how do I execute?) levels does wonders for task initiation and self-motivation. This helps homework completion become more predictable while reducing friction or ‘nagging’ cycles families can get stuck in.

Lesson 2:  Family Partnership Requires Structure and Resources

Authentic engagement is built, not scheduled.

While I don’t fully agree with the tagline (structure does involve some scheduling), I absolutely agree with the sentiment.

In my experience, families who have a have a structured, partnership approach towards school face fewer challenges than those who don’t: less micromanaging, more student motivation and more quality family time (without school-related tension in the background).

Here are two key ingredients to this approach:

• Roles, responsibilities, and expectations are explicit. For example: Mom/Dad are NOT responsible for making their teen’s schedule or to-do list; they’re responsible for ensuring their teen knows how to do this for themselves, and providing support or accountability to help build this skill. Some families have a cut-off for schoolwork completion, e.g. it must be completed by 9pm, while others have rules like ‘no schoolwork on Saturdays.’ The specifics vary, but the clarity does not.

• Establishing a predictable rhythm for communication and updates. The Terms of Engagement conversation is an excellent tool here: parents step back, teens step up, and all agree to scheduled, transparent check-ins each week. This gives teens autonomy with accountability, and gives parents peace of mind without hovering (see here for more details).

Across families I’ve worked with, the pattern is clear: when parents and teens co-create a structured approach to school, they reduce guesswork, stress, and undesired results.

Lesson 3: Excellence Requires Broader Measures and Longer Timelines

Growth unfolds at different speeds; measurement should too. 

Grades are often viewed as the key metric of success in school. What matters more - and predicts long-term success far better - is how a student learns: how they manage their time, how they study, how they handle setbacks.

Grades don’t reliably show the work behind the scenes. A lot of students get A’s because the material is easy or they’re naturally bright. I’ve worked with many teens who earned straight A’s in middle school, breezed through high school, and then hit a wall in college - because they never learned how to learn when things got hard (which they invariably do).

When we pay more attention to the inputs (how consistently students are practicing the skills, strategies, and routines that drive genuine learning) instead of only the outputs (grades), we get a clearer, fairer picture of true progress. We also gain insight into which part of their process needs strengthening - and once the process improves, grades and confidence do too.

Lesson 4: Codification Strengthens and Spreads Innovation

Clarity enables both quality and scale.

Few students I’ve worked with have systems for schoolwork. They respond to what’s been assigned, and feel like they’re starting from scratch on each new task.

Much of this is to do with the fact that school is organized around subjects, and students focus on the content of each subject. When they shift focus to the skills and strategies needed to learn across ALL subjects, school starts to feel easier and grades go up.

There are simple, repeatable frameworks teens can use to stay organized, manage their time, study, and take notes.

Codifying their approach helps because:

• Repeatable frameworks reduce cognitive load. When the process is clear, the brain can focus on meaning, connections, and problem-solving rather than scrambling to figure out what steps to take.

• Consistency breeds confidence. When teens can name the strategies they use - and when they understand the steps in those strategies - they trust themselves more. They feel smarter and more capable.

• It’s easier to improve what you can describe. When you’re clear on what’s working, you can intentionally refine it. When you’re not, progress feels random and motivation drops.

Whether your teen needs better strategies for managing their workload or you want fewer school-related fights, the lessons above can help guide your next steps. Pick the one you think could move the needle the most. If you have any questions about how to implement, let me know.

That’s it for today. Happy December!🎄 

Kelsey

PS I have one spot open for my 1:1 program in January. If your teen wants to turn things around with school once and for all, book a call here. We’ll discuss their situation and see if there’s a fit to work together.

Opportunities & Resources

• Burger King Scholars. Scholarships for US and Canadian high school seniors ranging from $1,000 - $60,000 and “intended to offset the cost of attending college.” Deadline is December 15 or as soon as they receive 30,000 applications, whichever comes first.

• NASA Internship Summer 2026. For US university students with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Although this is offered through their Office of STEM Engagement, this is not just for STEM students! They note that “our engineers, accountants, writers, IT specialists, project managers, program analysts, and many other professionals work together to break barriers to achieve the seemingly impossible.” Application is due February 27, 2026.

• SickKids Student Advancement Research (STAR) Program 2026. This is a “six-week paid summer research internship that provides Indigenous, Black and Filipino high school students with the opportunity to work in a world-class research lab.” Toronto-based, for Canadian students in Grade 11 or 12. Deadline is January 12 2026.