Student Success

At AnnieCannons, student success is about building confidence, community, and long-term stability. We believe that survivors thrive when supported as whole people.

A Care and Collaboration Model

AnnieCannons' Student Success program is rooted in seven Social Emotional Learning (SEL) constructs that reflect both the personal and interpersonal growth essential for success in tech and beyond:

🧠

Self-Concept / Self-Awareness

Recognizing personal strengths and areas for growth.

💪

Self-Efficacy

Building confidence in one's ability to learn, adapt, and problem-solve.

🌱

Growth Mindset

Viewing challenges as opportunities for improvement.

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Stress Management

Developing strategies to remain calm and resilient under pressure.

🎯

Goal Setting & Achievement Orientation

Setting, pursuing, and achieving realistic goals.

🤝

Collaboration / Teamwork

Contributing effectively to community learning and shared problem-solving.

❤️

Social Connectedness / Belonging

Cultivating meaningful, supportive relationships in the learning environment.

Each student's progress across these areas is tracked through customized SEL measures, informed by leading validated frameworks such as the Self-Description Questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS-SEL).

Individualized Support

From the moment they enroll, students partner with a Student Success Coordinator to develop personalized success goals. These goals focus on emotional regulation, persistence, teamwork, and confidence, and are revisited throughout the program.

Through pre- and post-program surveys, students self-assess their development while staff measure progress on key outcomes like self-efficacy, stress management, and collaboration. Increases in these measures demonstrate growth, while stagnation prompts targeted additional support.

Building Emotional Resilience

Students participate in workshops and coaching sessions that translate SEL constructs into lived experience. Students work on learning how to navigate frustration, manage stress, and ask for help effectively.

Recent workshops have included:

The Art of Asking for Help

The Power of Pause: Learning to Slow Down

Growth Mindset and Learning from Mistakes

Frustration Tolerance: How to Reframe Thought Patterns

In 2024, AnnieCannons facilitated over 400 hours of individualized student success sessions and 8 cohort-wide SEL workshops, ensuring each participant received holistic, tailored support.

A Community of Care

Every classroom is designed to foster predictability, transparency, and inclusion. AnnieCannons staff receive ongoing trauma-education training through partnerships with organizations like Survivor Alliance, ensuring that every student is met with empathy, respect, and understanding.

This foundation of trust enables students to take intellectual and emotional risks. Learning that bugs are a part of software and that persistence is the heart of transformation and lasting success!