Why Prisma Starts With Relationships
The school year has begun! And I think this year’s Prisma kickoff was our most exciting yet.
To set the stage for a new year of learning in community, nearly 700 (!) Prisma learners around the world were intentionally matched with the coaches and peer cohorts we thought would ‘get’ them, inspire them, and help them form meaningful friendships. Once the year began, learners reflected on their strengths, interests, and growth goals in family-coach conferences and our new 360-style assessment, the Prisma Powers Survey.
By now, each cohort has begun to crystallize their own unique culture: choosing a name (my favorite: Gnome Depot), building Portfolio websites to share their learning, and growing bonds through team-building exercises. At last week’s GoFurthers Fair, learners and coaches launched 40+ new extracurricular opportunities, from Yearbook to K-Pop Demon Hunters Club to Math Olympiad. Prisma parents built community, too – planning meetups everywhere from Seattle to Geneva, Switzerland and hosting more virtual book clubs and support chats than ever.
Over the years, we’ve come to recognize how essential it is for us to design ways for Prismarians to build real community early. Because forming meaningful relationships doesn’t just make Prisma more ‘fun,’ it makes us more effective at everything we do – through creating psychological safety.
What Is Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety, a term pioneered by Harvard researcher Amy Edmondson, describes the shared belief within a group that it’s safe to take risks, make mistakes, ask questions, and share ideas without fear of negative consequences. Her research shows that psychologically safe teams consistently outperform others because members feel free to contribute their best thinking.
Even though it’s usually applied to workplaces, I think we should be thinking about it more in education. In a traditional classroom where it’s only important to raise your hand and get the right answer, maybe psychological safety isn’t that beneficial – but when preparing kids for the real future, a learning environment where they can take risks allows them to:
- Challenge themselves with projects they’ve never attempted before
- Share half-formed ideas or disagree with the group during discussions and debates
- Accept critical feedback from coaches and peers that helps them genuinely improve
- Bounce back from failures – knowing their cohort and coach have their back no matter what
What Our Team Retreat Taught Me About Safety
In August, I experienced something that crystallized why psychological safety matters so much for educators too. Much of our team met in person for the first time in Prisma’s five-year history – an incredible few days filled with the energy that comes from people who genuinely love kids and what they do.
On our final evening, we experienced pure magic. We were led on a long, mysterious walk through the woods…until we discovered half a dozen Prisma learners wearing Prisma aprons and presenting us with a gorgeous outdoor four-course meal they’d dreamed up and prepared themselves (!!).
During the toasts that followed, many Prisma coaches shared their stories. I was struck by the common themes. Many were considering leaving education entirely before joining Prisma (and if you know our coaches, you know what a devastating loss that would have been for kids everywhere).
Why? At their previous schools or companies, they’d experienced:
- Emphasis on test scores that came at the expense of student wellbeing
- Focus on what looked impressive to external stakeholders rather than what created the best experience for families
- An atmosphere of distrust between parents, teachers, and administrators instead of true partnership for the kids
- Little room to show up as their whole selves, bring passion and personality to their work, or build authentic relationships
- Expectations to magically address student challenges and struggles without exploring root causes
Their words moved me so much. There was truly not a dry eye in the house as coach after coach went on to explain how, at Prisma, they’ve created a different kind of community as educators, one where:
- Every team member genuinely focuses on the KIDS FIRST
- Parents are true partners, not adversaries
- “Love of learning” and “21st century skills” aren’t buzzwords they’re expected to parrot but what the program is built on
- Each educator is trusted to bring their unique approach to connect with and motivate young people
- All team members are encouraged to suggest new ideas and actually BUILD them
Creating Safety for Learners Starts with Creating Safety for Educators
I’m honestly still processing the magic of that evening – and we haven’t even gotten into the double rainbow that appeared just after dinner (seriously – pictured). The best I’ve got so far: maybe when educators feel psychologically safe – trusted to innovate, supported to be authentic, encouraged to take risks – they naturally create that same environment for learners.
Prisma grew significantly this year, welcoming hundreds of new families and many new coaches. But our hope is that Prisma still feels intimate, because the heart of our school lives in these small groups of educators and families – communities where each member feels safe to become their best version of themselves.
#PrismaBigIdea posts are bite-sized glimpses into what’s interesting in education and parenting research and news, through a Prisma lens.
