Indigo Education Company

Indigo Hits BOCES in Niagara Falls

This past week, Indigo worked within throwing distance of Niagara Falls (the 8th wonder of the world). The Indigo Team hosted 10 districts in Western New York for a shared event to collaborate, share ideas, and talk about ways Indigo could be used in schools.

Lockport High School teachers and counselors going through an Indigo workshop.

CEO Sheri Smith with a Buffalo Public Schools educator.

The event is a big celebration for Indigo – by hosting the event, all 10 districts can now get reimbursed by BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) for any work they do with Indigo.

Now, nearly twenty high schools in the Niagara Falls and Buffalo area can access Indigo’s products and services without finances being a barrier. It’s a huge step toward increasing the equity of our product suite for students in schools that want to partner with us.

Indigo has been working extensively in Western New York the past nine months through Natalie Beilein, our Program Director. She was recently featured in Niagara Gazette for the impact she had on one of the top-ranked junior college basketball teams in the nation.

It’s exciting to see all the buzz and excitement educators are having for Indigo. We saw teachers, counselors, social workers, and administrators from across the region exchanging ideas, sharing contact information, and discussing issues that matter in their schools.

We are so thankful for BOCES helping make our services more affordable to high schools in Niagara-Orleans County. Can’t wait to bring this type of equity to schools throughout the state in the coming months, and further the work Natalie is doing leading Indigo in her region!

Two Roads Assistant Principal Writes Academic Paper on Indigo

Higher Education, Indigo News, Indigo Schools, Indigo Stories / By user

*Teachers at Two Roads Charter School in an Indigo Training.*

*John Waters, rocking the backward hat.*

John Waters is an Assistant Principal at Two Roads Charter school. He’s a four-time “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” and knows where all the good places to eat are in Westminster (trust me, we went to Dae Gee last time). In my opinion, he’s one of the most chill High S and High C’s I’ve ever met.

Not only is Waters clocking 40+ hours a week working with the Two Roads family, but he’s also working on his masters right now at the University of Colorado Denver. He did an organization profile on Indigo Project this past fall, interviewing multiple members of the Indigo team to learn about what we are doing.

We loved his paper. Not only is Waters a sharp operator, but he’s worked with Indigo for nearly a year now at Two Roads. He’s seen us from a researcher and client perspective. This is how, in his eyes, he sees our mission:

“To understand Indigo Project’s mission is to also understand that students do not achieve success in secondary education solely through standardized practices and methodologies. While all good teachers know that there are various learning styles within each classroom … many struggle with how to dig deeper in knowledge of their students … Indigo enters when a school wants to deconstruct these and discuss solutions and opportunities for growth.”

Students at Two Roads' Littleton campus after an Indigo Student Workshop. — Students at Two Roads’ Littleton campus after an Indigo Student Workshop.

There are no systems or standardized practices that meets the needs of students in secondary education because there are no systems or practices that fits for everyone. Students are different, and Indigo helps deconstruct what makes students who they are. We build solutions with administrator teams.

One of the great things about Two Roads is that their entire administration team is on board with the work Indigo is doing:

“Because the administrators at my school are committed to understanding our students beyond their academic performance, we felt there were missing pieces in our puzzle of holistically developing our student body…Our leadership team was frustrated with our students’ low state-level standardized test scores because we knew they were learning but struggled to perform well on the tests’ markers.”

Two Roads’ district, Jefferson County Public Schools, is beginning the conversation around non-academic outcomes (NAO). JeffCo is working to create more opportunities in development for growth mindset, grit, collaboration, and mindfulness to name a few.

Two Roads' teachers talking about what personalized education would look like at their school. — Two Roads’ teachers talking about what personalized education would look like at their school.

NAO is still in its early days, and districts everywhere are working to define what it is, how to measure it, and what “impact” really means. It’s part of the conversation we are having with Two Roads currently. It takes time. It takes effort.

Waters knows that the newness of NAO means it will take time to see tangible results. Although the long-range goals are still being discovered in Indigo and Two Roads’ partnership, Waters still believes Indigo is part of the future of NAO:

“If Jeffco and other school districts in the state or nationwide choose to explore NAO, I would advocate strongly for Indigo Project despite my school’s lack of identifying definitive outcomes at this time.”

This is what we’re most excited for in 2017. Now that we’ve established our presence in Colorado, New York, California, and Arizona (projects in over ten states), we are working to build new tools and platforms that will allow schools to do even more than they are already doing with Indigo data. We’re discovering new ways to make non-academic data intersect intelligently with curriculum, counseling, analysis, and most importantly, building personal and meaningful human relationships that matter.

We’re not a perfect company, and we’re still growing into who we are. But it’s always encouraging to see schools give honest opinions, help us grow, and stand by us as we continue to move forward in the mission of impacting one million students. Because students, at the end of the day, are why anyone who works at Indigo gets out of bed in the morning.

Director Joel Kaplan teaching improv after a student workshop.

Indigo’s Theory of Change Explained

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Indigo’s Theory of Change Explained

May 5th, 2016, written by Nathan Robertson

How do you change schools when educators are at their breaking points, students feel disconnected with the school, and administrators feel like their Masters in Education Leadership did nothing to prepare them for operating a school well?

Some schools seem to change with ease. They bob and weave with the trends and are always launching new programs with forward-looking agendas. The parent community always rallies behind them with support. Students are writing their own publications, starting businesses, and spend off periods pursuing passion projects.

Some schools are like that. Some.

Some schools are struggling to make it through each day. They can’t bob and weave – they get hit hard by each changing trend and policy. New ideas and initiatives get lost in subcommittees and inner-school politics. Parents are sullen, unhelpful, and often are only a source of complaints. It’s a struggle to get students in desks, yet alone see them learn anything they will apply to their lives.

Many schools, I fear, are more like that.

There is a bevy of big ideas in education – and a countless number of school models – trying to make schools nimble, quick, and agile when it comes to change. But which ones do you pick? How do you prioritize what resources to use when changing a school? How do you make teaching kids social emotional learning or training teachers in lean launch techniques relevant? How do you deal with financial limitations?

Where do you begin?

Often times, it is unclear. Schools don’t know where to begin, and the resources do nothing but overwhelm them even more.

At Indigo, we have developed a working hypothesis based on our work with dozens of schools. We are getting a clearer sense of what is needed to equip a school to change its culture and self-sustain transformation towards a safe, positive environment focused on personalized learning.

How do you change a school? First, you change the people in your school.

The Three Pillars in a School

Change begins with aligning the three main constituents of education: students, leadership and teachers. Successful change only happens when these three groups are aligned. If students aren’t onboard, no new ideas stick. If leadership isn’t onboard, the best ideas are stifled. If teachers aren’t onboard, then the classroom experience won’t change – no matter what ideas students and leadership push forward.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself will not stand.” If a house divided against itself cannot stand, what makes anyone think schools will fare any better when divided?

That’s why it is so important to engage these three pillars. It’s the key to successful change.

Students – Bottom-up, “The Groundswell”

Students are the reason why the education industry exists. If society ever reverted back to parents teaching their children, then teachers, principals, policy makers, and think tank education researchers are all out of jobs. We are employed out of an obligation to develop this nation’s youth.

However, it is not uncommon for students’ voices to go unheard. This does not just happen at struggling, financially strapped schools. I have been at successful college-prep academies where students feel they have no choice in their education path.

Students need to be met not only “where they are”, but also as “who they are.” By meeting students where they are and as who they are, schools pave the way for student-centered and personalized learning.

It’s easy to write off the ideas of a 15-year-old high school student. But the best innovations come from people on the ground level. Factory workers can identify better improvements than an engineer who has never stepped in the plant. Servers see better ways to please customers than a manager who sits in the back office.

Just think about what sort of insights educators could get if they really took time to understand who students are, what they are passionate about, and then change the way they teach.

Leadership – Top-down, “The Gatekeepers”

Principals, headmasters, and CMO directors are shaping the landscape of education. They choose school models, handle hiring, start initiatives, and control the direction of schools. Sometimes it is a leadership team – sometimes it is an individual who rules carte blanche through force of personality. Regardless of structure, leadership choices cascade down to affect our teachers and students.

Some leaders struggle with the idea that their school needs to change – to admit the need is to admit failure. They close off to new ideas from their faculty and students. Other leaders are under pressure from their board or community and feel they can’t change – even if they want to change.

Principals and high-level administrators must understand what needs to be done and “buy in” to innovation.

Different leaders have different motivations. Some will be convinced through data. Some will be convinced by arguing with them that change will do good for the students. Strategies vary. Once leadership is onboard, however, resources can begin to move to gain momentum for change.

Teachers – Pivot Point, “The Go-Getters”

Teachers are the true change makers in schools. They run the classrooms. They have meaningful relationships with students. They are training, coaching, and evaluating every young person that comes into their rooms. The modern teacher is part content master, part assessment expert, and part personal Sherpa.

Teachers stand as the intermediary between students and leadership. Without them, neither side would be heard by the other. If a school’s teachers simply stayed in the classroom and didn’t mind the rest of the school environment, then schools would fall apart into pieces. Culture cannot be built without the support of teachers.

Teachers must be the pivot point in bridging communication, idea generation, and implementation for students and leadership.

Many administrators I speak with groan about “the one time the school tried to do such-and-such professional development program, but the teachers didn’t respond well to it.” Imagine if you could get teachers excited for a shift that is part of the long-term vision. What would your school look like?

It’s Not Easy, but Easy Work is Boring

All of Indigo’s work centers around bringing these three pillars together. We are the catalyst that aligns these key stakeholders and drives them towards culture change and personalized learning. We have seen that when schools begin to get all three groups on the same page, change occurs organically and is sustained from within the school without support from Indigo.

Schools thrive when students are engaged, leadership is motivated, and educators construct the bridges for change. Our vision is to create a world where those schools exist in every county, city, and state in the country. At Indigo, we work everyday to make that a reality.

Highlighting Excellence: New Vista’s Success in Personalized Education

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Highlighting Excellence: New Vista’s Success in Personalized Education

March 9th 2016, Written by Nathan Robertson

It’s not everyday you hear about high school students restoring a 1969 Pontiac Firebird.

This past fall Indigo Project, an education technology company headquartered in Niwot, Colorado, peered behind the curtain of New Vista High School to see what makes the school tick. Through this work, Indigo discovered a school that is excelling at personalized education. Based on the data insights, New Vista has cracked the code on how to connect with students. It’s leading to the development of skills such as empathy and creativity, an open and collaborative environment, and helping students nail down who they are and what they are passionate about in life.

Indigo’s data proves this. New Vista’s faculty have the highest Steadiness Behavior (calm, loyal, patient) of any high school Indigo has worked with in Colorado. Additionally their Empathy Skill is far above the average corporate adult, and they are also highly motivated by giving back and making an impact in their students’ lives (Social Motivator). These characteristics, identified by the Indigo Assessment, indicate New Vista’s environment is a nurturing and stable place for a school that is “designed to cultivate the unique talents, gifts, and interests” of students.

To understand what New Vista is doing right, a deep dive is necessary to see who are the students, who are the staff, and what things are administrators doing to help align students, staff and themselves together. Understanding how Indigo shed light on what New Vista’s process is and why that process works can launch larger conversations about what is the current state of other schools who are trying – and maybe struggling – to figure out who their students are and what the school culture is.

What if Test Scores Aren’t the Most Important Thing?

Many schools today are focused on driving students toward the types of success that are easiest to measure. They would rather emphasize school-wide SAT scores and percentage of students going to a four-year university than evaluate how many students feel good about themselves and also feel prepared to pursue the future they want for themselves. It leaves out a lot of narratives about how schools are actually developing children as people.

Enter New Vista High School: a school of about 300 students in the heart of Boulder, Colorado. New Vista is one of the schools that champions the idea of creating a safe, supportive and trusting environment for students. It’s not about cutthroat competition. It’s about an open, collaborative place where individual differences are respected and students are held to high standards for the betterment of the community. It’s a nurturing environment that is designed to develop students in all aspects of their life.

However, this leads to a dilemma. How does a school like New Vista display these qualities to potential students and their families? How do they advocate for the model in a concrete way? What if test scores aren’t the most important thing to measure?

New Vista, an Overview

New Vista opened its doors in 1993. For more than 20 years, they have been providing an alternative education experience to students who do not thrive under traditional models.

“One of the things we do really well here at New Vista is focus on the whole student through individualized instruction,” Principal Kirk Quitter said. “ Ultimately, our aim is to meet students where they are and give them what they need to be more successful.”

As soon as you walk into New Vista, you can feel that the school is personalized for its students. The New Vista community is creative, and student artwork is all over the walls. The students are also environmentally conscious, with posters on the wall announcing meetings for groups like Earth Task Force and classes such as Community Adventure Program, a quarter-long outdoor course that focuses on survival skills and how to reduce your eco-footprint. This is not a one-size-fits-all model, but a school that is clearly honing in on how to best fit the students that are coming through their doors.

In the spirit of a collaborative culture, classes are not separated by age. Instead, all classes have a variety of students from freshmen to seniors. It breaks down walls that sometimes occur when grades are isolated in their own cohorts. The result is a strong community where 14-year-olds and 18-year-olds are interacting in the same room and learning together.

This community is not just internally focused however. Once a week students can go out and engage with their city in Community Experiences. CEs can take many forms, ranging from professional experiences like working in a local architecture firm to partnering with nonprofits in the community. Regardless of form, students are going outside of their schools and advocating for themselves in roles and responsibilities with real organizations. This builds a sense of autonomy, independence and confidence that is critical for the development of our youth.

New Vista brings all these unique experiences to head with their Culminating Projects. The projects are senior capstones a la personalized learning – students complete an original, rigorous piece of work that is relevant or of great interest to them based on who they are. It dovetails the intensity of a traditional capstone with the individualized streak of the student. With a community like New Vista, projects stay wide, varied and original; some past examples include ecological studies in Tasmania, interning at a school for autistic children, and restoring a 1969 Pontiac Firebird.

New Vista is a community based on the individual. It stresses individual discovery and provides opportunities to explore passions through a variety of projects and experiences. It also provides a collaborative space where all these individuals can engage in respectful dialogue with each other regardless of age. In terms of a school-student fit, New Vista fits its students like a glove fits a hand.

New Vista through the Lens of Indigo

This fall, the Indigo team worked with all the students and faculty at New Vista. Here’s some of the key insights on how the school is shaping students that the Indigo Assessment revealed.

A Steady Staff

One of the areas the Indigo Assessment measures is Behaviors – how people communicate or “show up” in a room. One of the Behaviors measured is Steadiness: it embodies consistency, patience, loyalty, and how nurturing an individual is capable of being. When looking at the staff at New Vista, teachers showed up nearly two standard deviations higher than the average adult in Steadiness. This is the highest Indigo has seen in any school.

What does this say about the school? It says they are doing a good job at hiring. If the school is truly focused on individualized education and growing students in a holistic way, that requires a lot of additional time from teachers to form one-to-one relationships with students and invest additional time in each person. It requires patience, understanding, and a non-aggressive demeanor. With a staff this high in Steadiness, this team of teachers will constantly be thinking about how they can help provide the right environment for their students – and it shows. Teachers want outside guests and speakers to understand who their students are and what the culture is before they come because they want to make sure anyone working with their students provides a personalized experience fit to them.

They don’t do it because of rules or compliance. They do it because they care that much about the students.

A Creative and Empathetic Student Population

Another area the assessment measures is Motivators – what drives a person, how they prioritize things in life. It measures between six different motivators. One of the motivators is Aesthetic: it embodies a desire for balance and harmony, and typically underscores a desire for some sort of creative or artistic outlet. Looking at the seniors, 50 percent of students indicated that Aesthetic was their number one Motivator.

Remember when I said there was artwork all over the school walls? That wasn’t some school program that forced students to paint – students there are looking for an artistic outlet. The fact that the school is hanging up their artwork everywhere just means that the school is listening.

As a result, when looking at students’ top 21st Century Skills on the test both Creativity and Empathy show up as top skills. Confidence in these skills are a direct result of being in an aesthetic, steady school built around student preferences.

A School that is Addressing Social Emotional Issues

The fourth and final section measured on the test is Social Emotional Health – measuring how people view both internal and external elements of who they are and the world around them. At Indigo, we typically see most schools have about 30 percent of their population showing up on the “Blue List” of students that may need additional social emotional support.

At New Vista, however, we see an interesting trend. While the school is known for attracting students that need social emotional help, the school is showing that the percentage of students in each grade that needs additional support is dropping marginally each passing year as they get older. The school is aware that its students need the additional support, and the test shows that they are doing things to help students that are working.

Conclusion

New Vista’s model is different than the other schools in its district. It has an environmental emphasis and cares deeply about the state of its student community. It gives students a lot of flexibility to pursue their own path and passions. The assessment puts concrete numbers behind their culture. They are a school with an incredibly steady staff. Their students are developing skills they wouldn’t be developing at any traditional school in the district. On top of all that, students are finding closure in their emotional struggles as they begin to feel more and more confident and empowered to go into the future.

In other words, New Vista is a model that excels at their mission, and they now have scores to show that.

So what’s next? New Vista will begin integrating curriculum around Indigo into their advisories. Additionally, counselors are beginning to use Indigo in one-on-one advising with students. More than anything, Quitter says it brings a lingua franca into the school to talk about the different attributes that make people who they are.

“The results mean a greater opportunity to serve the needs of our kids, and bringing that common language into our community is huge,” Quitter said. “This process has had some big ripple effects from the classroom, into the advisory level and out into the community amongst parents.”

It is our hope those ripples will continue to grow in starting conversations between students, parents and teachers about how to connect with students and help them find a college and career future that fits who they are.

Indigo Moves to Niwot

April 29h 2015, Written by Marie Campbell

Niwot, CO – The Indigo Education Company moves today from their current office on Pearl Street (Boulder) to Niwot Road. At their new location, Indigo plans to offer student workshops and community events geared toward college and career preparedness.

Indigo’s relocation to Niwot fits with the company’s goal to positively impact local communities. Niwot’s small-town feel makes it the ideal location, as do the personal company connections – Indigo’s current President, David Kalish, is a Niwot resident, and Indigo’s office manager grew up in the town.

Indigo’s new office will take on the title “Indigo Advising” and will focus on supporting the local community, while the Indigo Education Company will continue to offer support to schools and educators. Starting in June, Indigo Advising will conduct free workshops covering topics such as:

How to select a good college fit,
How to choose a major, and
How to channel your child’s unique strengths.

Additional upcoming events include an Artwalk Open House, a Free Cupcake Day, and a Mother’s Day Tea.

Indigo’s mission is to teach students the skills they need to succeed in all of life: at school, at home, among friends, and one day in the workplace. Through personalized, non-academic data analysis and advising, Indigo equips students to uncover their unique passions, motivators, and behavioral styles. Indigo then helps students apply this knowledge to major life decisions, such as college and career choice.

“We need to look at education from a different perspective,” CEO Sheri Smith wrote in a recentblog post. “What matters in the real world generally has little to do with book knowledge. Creativity, resourcefulness, grit, kindness, and passion … they constitute true brilliance,” Smith says. Indigo’s Niwot workshops are just one manifestation of this vision, as students learn to harness and apply their individual genius.

Indigo anticipates an official opening date of May 26th. Their new address will be:7960 Niwot Road Suite B-9, Niwot, CO, 80503. To view upcoming events, visit the events page for Indigo Advising.

About the Indigo Assessment

The Indigo Assessment is a 45-minute online questionnaire providing students, parents, and educators with non-academic data often missing from traditional education. The assessment was originally developed by Indigo’s technology partner Target Training International and has been used by CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies for over 30 years. In 2013, Indigo adapted the assessment to apply to students 9th grade and above. Thanks to the Indigo Assessment, students are equipped to understand their unique strengths, motivators, and learning styles.

TTI Success Insights Wins Prestigious Leadership 500 Award By HR.com

TTI Success Insights Wins Prestigious Leadership 500 Award by HR.com

April 21st 2015, Written by Marie Campbell

TTI Success Insights (TTI SI) was awarded first place in the small business category during the Leadership 500 Excellence Awards Program, which salutes the world’s top companies for outstanding achievement in leadership development practices.

Scottsdale, Ariz., April 03, 2015 — TTI Success Insights (TTI SI) was awarded first place in the small business category during the Leadership 500 Excellence Awards Program, which salutes the world’s top companies for outstanding achievement in leadership development practices.

TTI SI’s top honor celebrated how the company has positively impacted businesses and employees’ lives through its suite of assessments, along with enabling its worldwide network of 7,000 Value Added Associates to meet and exceed their clients’ expectations.

“Our company has developed and shaped rising leaders for over 30 years, and we feel honored to be a spoke on the wheel in helping small businesses grow and better serve their clients,” said Bill J. Bonnstetter, chairman and founder of TTI SI. “As the workplace shifts with new generations entering the job market, leaders will thrive when they better understand how the fives sciences that make up the Science of Self™ impact their productivity and profits.”

Leadership 500 Excellence Award winners were announced March 31 at LEAD500, a three-day conference in Dallas keynoted by former President Bill Clinton. This year’s awards recipients were judged by an expert panel and selected based on both an application and nomination process, as well as feedback from each nominated company’s stakeholders

The top 500 leadership organizations receive recognition in HR.com’s annual ranking, and the winners in each category are featured in this month’s Leadership Excellence magazine.

“I think the Leadership 500 Awards, in combination with LEAD 2015, demonstrates top organizations that not only value leadership, but also have innovative programs,” said Debbie McGrath, CEO of HR.com. “This year’s list of winners reflect the importance of reinventing leadership development and the need to bring leadership to a wider audience.”

Established in 1984 by Bill J. Bonnstetter and his son, Dave Bonnstetter, TTI SI has helped businesses increase employee engagement, increase leaders’ self-awareness, improve team efficiencies, and provide clarity in purpose and communication.

Source: http://www.ttisuccessinsights.com/

Charter School Awarded Grant for Suicide Prevention

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Charter School Awarded Grant for Suicide Prevention

January 22nd 2015, Written by Marie Campbell

Peak to Peak High School partners with The Indigo Project, iTHRIVE, and safeTALK to implement school-wide student empowerment program

A grant provided by the Colorado Department of Education has been awarded to Peak to Peak Charter High School for the purpose of improving students’ social-emotional wellbeing. The grant money will provide data from The Indigo Education Company, including assessment tools, school-wide trainings, and detailed curriculum changes, to increase the overall effectiveness of School Health Professionals (SHP), specifically in the areas of substance abuse and suicide prevention. The program will be a combined effort of Peak to Peak, The Indigo Education Company, and two local partners specializing in substance abuse and suicide prevention: iTHRIVE and ASIST/safeTALK (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training/Suicide Alertness for Everyone).

Ranked as the #1 public school in Colorado and top 100 in the nation, Peak to Peak High School is aggressive in implementing innovative approaches to social-emotional health. With this grant, Peak to Peak looks forward to benefitting the entire student body rather than focusing solely on students currently considered at-risk. “Prevention is the key,” says lead guidance counselor Kimberly Gannett. “We believe that integrating positive mental health messages and self awareness into everything we do will increase the overall social-emotional health of every student.” To address the issues of substance abuse and suicide awareness/prevention, administrators are incorporating the Indigo Assessment’s data report into preexisting 9th through 12th grade curriculum. The goal is to better understand the current state of the student body and to encourage students to talk about themselves and the problems they face. Assistant Principal and 9th grade English teacher at Peak to Peak, Clara Quinlan, has already seen positive results. She says, “Many of my freshmen reported feeling empowered and understood for the first time. They often use the language from this tool as they learn to self-advocate and set reasonable and attainable goals. I now consider the Indigo Assessment an indispensable tool in my curriculum.”

From January through May of 2015, the Indigo Education Company will provide Peak to Peak with student data analytics reflecting social-emotional trends school-wide and highlighting at-risk students. Indigo will also track growth patterns of key, non-academic indicators such as resiliency, self-esteem, and sense of belonging, measuring the effectiveness of new curriculum. Principal of Peak to Peak Kyle Matthews says, “We are looking forward to using this information to better train our staff. Knowing how students think about stress, substance abuse, and suicide, we can build systems that stem challenges before they arise.”

Indigo’s data-collection tool (the Indigo Assessment) and accompanying algorithms were created by Target Training International (TTI), a leader in assessment technologies worldwide. TTI has been applying brain and social science to the corporate world for over 30 years, analyzing top leaders of fortune 500 companies in 90 countries and 40 languages. Today, their methods extend to the education system through the efforts of Indigo Education Company. One of the four sciences applied in the Indigo Assessment has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

This is not the first time Peak to Peak has teamed up with Indigo. Looking back on smaller pilot implementations from 2013 and 2014, Matthews states, “Using Indigo has transformed how we see and work with our students. While we have always focused on supporting students’ passions and areas of strength, Indigo provides deep insights into how students communicate and thrive in a given learning environment. As a result, our students, families and staff are finally speaking the same language about learning needs and maximizing academic and social-emotional connections in our community.”

About the Indigo Education Company

The Indigo Education Company is committed to promoting college and career preparedness in high schools nationwide, through the integration of 21st century soft skills. Indigo provides personalized research and data analysis, comprehensive trainings, and long-term curriculum development to ensure students are equipped for success in college and beyond. Indigo believes strongly in the potential of every student, seeking to guide them into college and career paths aligning with their natural strengths. The Indigo Foundation, a Colorado 501c and affiliate of the Indigo Education Company, is actively involved with implementations for schools and students in need. To learn more, visit www.IndigoProject.org.

Indigo CEO Sheri Smith Honored with Research Partner Award

February 23rd 2015, Written by Marie Campbell

Indigo Project Recognized for Efforts to Revolutionize Education System

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Jan. 16, 2015 – TTI Success Insights (TTI SI) is pleased to award Sheri Smith of the Indigo Education Company with its 2014 Research Partner of the Year Award for demonstrated excellence in research during the past year into human behavior and motivation amongst college-bound students for future career planning.

Smith, whose social enterprise is based in Boulder, Colo., received the top honor Jan. 10 duringTTISICon 2015, TTI SI’s annual conference at the We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center inScottsdale. More than 400 TTI SI network members gathered Jan. 9-12 to honor top performers and celebrate successes and innovation in business.

TTI SI Chairman and Founder Bill J. Bonnstetter and TTI SI Senior Vice President of Research and Development Ron Bonnstetter, Ph.D., presented the top honor to Smith. The Research Partner of the Year Award recognizes a leader within the Value Added Associate (VAA) network who has enriched lives, institutions and/or organizations with their collaboration and partnership with TTI SI to uncover new insights and discoveries into the human condition.

In 2014, Smith collaborated with TTI SI to launch the Indigo Project, a venture designed to empower young people to make the learning process more personalized and better aligned with future career planning.

One goal of the continuing Indigo Project is to create a searchable database of at least 100 alternative higher education options from across the nation, categorized by an individual’s motivational style, where students can best excel based on their top inherent skills. Both traditional and non-traditional institutions will be included.

“Sheri’s dynamism to bring about change in the 21st century education model has been nothing short of spectacular,” Ron Bonnstetter said. “I’ve been thrilled to work with Sheri during the past year through an assessment-based approach and appreciate her willingness to include TTI SI in this venture. I see nothing but great things ahead for a sharp-minded leader like Sheri.”

“Working directly with Dr. Ron Bonnstetter and the TTI SI team has been wonderful. The Indigo Project wouldn’t be what it is without TTI SI’s steadfast support and investment,” Smith said. “I’m honored to receive this award and feel truly honored to partner with a category leader in the field of assessments and talent management.”

TTISICon 2015 marked TTI SI’s 26th annual conference – and it’s the largest gathering yet. Next year’s conference will take place Jan. 8-10, 2016, at The Scottsdale Plaza Resort.

About TTI Success Insights

TTI Success Insights believes all people are unique and have talents and skills of which they are often unaware. We exist to reveal and harness these talents, using the Science of Self™. For over 30 years, we have researched and applied social and brain science, creating assessment solutions consultants in 90 countries and 40 languages used to hire, develop and retain the best talent in the world. With a tenacious, innovative culture, we transform potential to productivity, performance and profits. Every 27 seconds, someone is taking a TTI SI assessment to increase their self-awareness and grow their career. For more information, visit www.ttisi.com and @TTI_SI.

Parent Workshop at Peak to Peak High School

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Personalizing School Culture Causes Radical Transformation

March 14th 2015, Written by Sheri Smith

Indigo is hosting a student/parent workshop at Peak to Peak High School this Tuesday night, December 2nd. This workshop, will feature the following:

In-depth analysis of the Indigo Report and how you can use it for college/career path decisions.
Parent/Student Communication Tips and Practice
Personalized analysis of your report
Walk away with a specific action plan and goals of how to leverage the information in the Indigo for success