Research & impact

We’re committed to being transparent with the findings of our research and to identifying areas of improvement so we can best serve our students.
An illustration of various school supplies floating in the air, including books, a ruler, pencils, and pens.

Our studies have been funded and conducted by a number of reputable education organizations.

US Department of Education logo with a blue seal with a tree growing inside of it
US Dept of Education
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University of California Los Angeles logo etched in blue with an old-world book and ribbon inside the circle seal.
University of California, Los Angeles
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LeanLab Education logo with "LeanLab" in thick blue letters and education in green. The A in leanlab is lifted like it is a rocket blasting off.
Leanlab Education
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Stanford Graduate School of Education Teacher Education Program. The acronym STEP sits on top of stair steps in blocks of different red shades.
Stanford Graduate School of Education
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New Schools Venture Fund logo in blue with "new" in a thick san serif font and "schools" in a thin serif font.
New Schools Venture Fund
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WestEd logo featuring the name "West" in blue and "Ed" in green, with a blue and green orb to the right of the name
WestEd
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Impact highlights

An illustration of a boy student with black hair and tan skin, typing on a laptop. There are green chalk illustrations of a lightbulb, a smiley face, an arrow, and stars around him, as well as a thought bubble that says "Next time I will..."
Students reflecting weekly in Sown To Grow saw a 13% increase on indicators of growth mindset.
An illustration of a teacher with red hair grading student work. She sits next to a stack of books and an apple. There are green chalk stars drawn around her.
93% of teachers reported increase depth and quality of student reflections over time with Sown To Grow.
An illustration of a teacher pointing something out cheerfully to a student who is drawing at his desk. The teacher is a Black man with a short haircut and wearing a blue button down. The boy student has longer curly hair, tan skin, and is wearing a green sweatshirt.
Students using Sown To Grow had a .52 point higher GPA (4.0 scale) than those that did not use Sown To Grow.
An illustration of a boy student crossing a finish line and celebrating. He has dark hair, is wearing a yellow shirt, and has his arms raised in celebration as confetti rains down around him.
Students participating in Sown To Grow weekly reflections saw a 12% increase on indicators of self-empowerment.
An illustration of a teacher handing a student a cup with pens and pencils in it. The teacher is a Black woman with a short curly haircut, wearing gold hoop earrings and wearing a green blouse. The student has curly dark hair and tan skin, is wearing a purple outfit, and uses a wheelchair.
Teachers reported an 18% boost in their students opened up to them, compared to before using Sown Grow.
An illustration of a girl with straight, dark brown hair and tan skin who is wearing a yellow sweatshirt. she wears purple headphones and is reading a book with a purple cover.
Students using the Sown To Grow's SEL curriculum saw post-assessment improvement in self-regulation skills.
An illustration of three children playing and celebrating together. One boy has brown hair and is wearing a blue shirt, one boy has curly black hair and is in a wheelchair, and one girl has dark curly hair in an updo and is wearing a red blouse. The boy in the wheelchair and the girl in red are high-fiving.
Students reporting the lowest sense of belonging, consistently reported improved feelings of happiness over the school year.
An illustration of a student with dark hair holding a giant pencil and marking something complete as she stands on a line that shows the upward progress she made to complete this goal.
Students participating in Sown To Grow weekly reflections saw a 12% increase on indicators of positive academic behavior.
An illustration of a Black female student sitting at her desk with her laptop open. Her teacher sits next to her, chatting enthusiastically.
85% of teachers shared that Sown To Grow helped them provide more personalized learning to students.
An illustration of a boy student with black hair and tan skin, typing on a laptop. There are green chalk illustrations of a lightbulb, a smiley face, an arrow, and stars around him, as well as a thought bubble that says "Next time I will..."
Students reflecting weekly in Sown To Grow saw a 13% increase on indicators of growth mindset.
‍
An illustration of a teacher with red hair grading student work. She sits next to a stack of books and an apple. There are green chalk stars drawn around her.
93% of teachers reported increase depth and quality of student reflections over time with Sown To Grow.
An illustration of a teacher pointing something out cheerfully to a student who is drawing at his desk. The teacher is a Black man with a short haircut and wearing a blue button down. The boy student has longer curly hair, tan skin, and is wearing a green sweatshirt.
Students using Sown To Grow had a .52 point higher GPA (4.0 scale) than those that did not use Sown To Grow.
‍
An illustration of a boy student with black hair and tan skin, typing on a laptop. There are green chalk illustrations of a lightbulb, a smiley face, an arrow, and stars around him, as well as a thought bubble that says "Next time I will..."
Students participating in Sown To Grow weekly reflections saw a 12% increase on indicators of self-empowerment.
An illustration of a teacher handing a student a cup with pens and pencils in it. The teacher is a Black woman with a short curly haircut, wearing gold hoop earrings and wearing a green blouse. The student has curly dark hair and tan skin, is wearing a purple outfit, and uses a wheelchair.
Teachers reported an 18% boost in their students opened up to them, compared to before using Sown Grow.
An illustration of a girl with straight, dark brown hair and tan skin who is wearing a yellow sweatshirt. she wears purple headphones and is reading a book with a purple cover.
Students using the Sown To Grow's SEL curriculum saw post-assessment improvement in self-regulation skills.
‍
An illustration of three children playing and celebrating together. One boy has brown hair and is wearing a blue shirt, one boy has curly black hair and is in a wheelchair, and one girl has dark curly hair in an updo and is wearing a red blouse. The boy in the wheelchair and the girl in red are high-fiving.
Students reporting the lowest sense of belonging, consistently reported improved feelings of happiness over the school year.
An illustration of a student with dark hair holding a giant pencil and marking something complete as she stands on a line that shows the upward progress she made to complete this goal.
Students participating in Sown To Grow' reflections saw a 12% increase on indicators of positive academic behavior.
An illustration of a Black female student sitting at her desk with her laptop open. Her teacher sits next to her, chatting enthusiastically.
85% of teachers shared that Sown To Grow helped them provide more personalized learning to students.
‍

Full research studies

An illustration of a male counselor talking to a student at a desk. The counselor is a South Asian man with short black hair and wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt. The student is a boy with red hair, pale skin, and a yellow shirt.
"Every Student Known": Building Systems of Support Through Nashville's Navigator Initiative (case study).

Spring 2023 • EdRedesign at Harvard Graduate School of Ed.

Sown To Grow is a part of Metro Nashville Public Schools' Navigator Program, which connects every student in the district with a trusting adult. Through a system of weekly digital check-ins and monthly in-person meetings, the district has built actionable, proactive, and student-centered MTSS.

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An illustration of a female teacher with dark hair worn up in a bun and an orange dress sitting at a desk. The teacher is using her laptop to read student reflections on Sown To Grow and there is a text box popping out from her laptop that shows she is responding to a student.
Improved quality and efficiency of teacher feedback on student reflections.

Fall 2021 • LeanLab Education

Sown To Grow's responsive feedback suggestions feature improved the quality and efficiency of teacher responses to  student reflections. Students and teachers in the middle schools surveyed shared that receiving reflection feedback improved trust with teachers.

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An illustration of a Black female student sitting at her desk with her laptop open. Her teacher sits next to her, chatting enthusiastically. There are green chalk illustrations drawn around them.
Students and teachers report positive growth in student social-emotional competencies.

Spring 2021 • LeanLab Education

Survey and interview data found that Sown To Grow can add significant value to classrooms by building student-teacher relationships and by providing language and skills to reflect and manage emotions.

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Sown To Grow is feasible in both in-classroom and synchronous remote contexts.

Spring 2020 • WestEd

Sown To Grow’s emotional check-in module and SEL curriculum were validated for successful implementation in both in-person and remote-synchronous contexts based on a study of sixth grade classrooms.

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An illustration of a bar graph that compares two groups in a research study. The left yellow bar shows the control of students who did not use Sown To Grow, and is lower than the right green bar that shows the treatment group that used Sown To Grow. The bar graph measures student average GPA and shows a GPA increase by students who used Sown To Grow.
Sown To Grow academic check-in module leads to higher academic performance.

Spring 2018 • UCLA Graduate School of Education

Students using Sown To Grow's academic check-in module earned higher end-of-semester grades than similar students who did not consistently reflect. Quality of student academic strategies improved over the semester, in those who reflected.

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An illustration of a boy student with black hair and tan skin, typing on a laptop. There are green chalk illustrations of a lightbulb, a smiley face, an arrow, and stars around him, as well as a thought bubble that says "Next time I will..."
Students report improvement in growth mindset, empowerment, and academic behaviors.

Fall 2016 • Stanford Teacher Eductation Program

Students who reflection on Sown To Grow reported statistically significant improvements in growth mindset, empowerment, and academic behaviors, compared to a control group, which exhibited a decline in all three metrics.

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Interested in doing
research with us?

We're always striving to learn more about our impact and how we can build products that support students.

E-mail us research@sowntogrow.com
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