Bridging States, Building Minds

Posted On: July 18, 2025

Shelia Nicholson is a double line in the Constellation of Support for students, teachers and families in the Ferguson, Missouri community. Last March, she took on a new mission: helping a class of low-performing third graders finish the year strong. She turned to BrainWise for guidance—and brought a powerful coalition with her. (See her story here: Fulfilling an Educators Wishlist

Colorado CEC Interactors on Zoom.

While Shelia’s team worked in Missouri, sophomores from Denver’s Career Education Center (CEC) high school were preparing to join the effort. Led by educator Stacey Hervey, the students—members of the school’s Interact Club (a Rotary-affiliated community service group)—collaborated with Rotarian and BrainWise board member Debra Flick to prepare a virtual lesson.

The high-schoolers read Worrysaurus, a story of a young dinosaur dealing with anxiety. For the third-graders, it was their first time learning from teens; for the Colorado students, it was their first time teaching in a classroom setting. And the classroom? A Zoom session that transcended geography. Issue 98 BrainWise Newsletter June 1

Kindness in Action.

The teens displayed kindness and patience as their young learners forgot what they were going to say. They praised their efforts and gently reminded them to Stop and Think. The moment was more than symbolic—it was a demonstration of the Wise Ways in real time.

Read more about Expanding the Reinforcement Model here: https://conta.cc/4eg4xcv

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