Harper for Kids

06/09/2026

What does success really mean?

It was so fun to have KRON 4 News meteorologist John Shrable as a special guest for our presentation with Phil Swing's 5th grade students. The teachers were especially excited for students to learn from a real meteorologist, giving them the opportunity to connect the weather concepts they were studying in their science unit to a real-world career and ask questions directly to an expert in the field.

When asked how he defines success, John shared that success is not about fame or money but rather it’s about doing something that is good for your community, good for yourself, and being able to look back at the end of the day knowing you made a positive impact and feel good about what you accomplished.

John encouraged the students to find something they are passionate about and look forward to each day. Even with his early morning schedule, he shared that what motivates him is knowing that much of what he gets to do today was once only a dream.

Students enjoyed learning about weather and what goes into being a meteorologist. They also heard how cooperation, communication, and confidence play an important role in helping a news team work together each day. These are powerful reminders that success is about finding your passion, helping others, continuing to learn, and giving your best effort every day.

We are grateful to John for inspiring students to strive to be their "ultimate self" and define success in a way that is meaningful to them.

06/07/2026

🎉 Harper for Kids is officially beginning its 19th year!

Since receiving our nonprofit status on June 6, 2008, we've had the privilege of sharing Coach Wooden's lessons on character, effort, and success with more than 100,000 students, along with thousands of educators and families.

❤️ Thank you to everyone who has supported our mission along the way, including our school partners, students, families, board members, volunteers, guest speakers, donors, and community partners. We are grateful for the journey so far and excited to continue helping young people achieve their Personal Best as we begin our 19th year.

If you're a principal or teacher interested in bringing Harper for Kids to your K–8 students, we'd love to connect. Send us a message to learn more about partnering with us.

05/25/2026

Most people remember John Wooden as one of the greatest coaches of all time.

But one of the things closest to his heart was helping children understand what success really means.

These photos represent a journey for us that began back in 2001, collaborating with Coach Wooden on his children's book "Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success" alongside his co-author and our good friend Steve Jamison … and continues today through our Harper for Kids Character Education Program.

Coach Wooden believed success comes from giving your best effort, building good character, and becoming your Personal Best.

Today, through our program, students are still learning those same timeless lessons through his Pyramid of Success, positive self-talk, and conversations about character, confidence, effort, and believing in themselves.

We are honored to help continue Coach Wooden’s legacy by sharing his timeless life lessons with this generation of students:
“Success is happiness in your heart because you made the effort, 100%, to do your best.”

💭 How would the mindset of our youth change if we helped more students define success this way?

05/22/2026

COACH JOHN WOODEN’S PYRAMID OF SUCCESS

Building Character Block by Block

HARD WORK
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Preparing for Success means you must work hard. Are you preparing to Succeed or preparing to fail?

If you are looking for the easy way, a short cut or trick you are preparing to fail because success requires old-fashioned hard work.

Remember: Only you know if you are working as hard as you can.

Coach Wooden believed success begins with giving your best effort.

✨ Challenge for this week: What is one extra thing you can do to be better prepared to achieve your goal?

💭 Reflection: Who is someone in your life that sets a great example of Hard Work? What can you learn from them?

05/22/2026

Special Guest: “Success Is…”

We were honored to have 🎾 17x Grand Slam Champion, Olympic Gold and Silver Medalist, former ATP Tour World #1 doubles player, and International Tennis Hall of Fame Mark Woodforde visit three schools with us to share lessons about effort, determination, the importance of positive self-talk, and becoming your Personal Best with over 1,800 elementary students.

As we want to encourage the students to come up with their own positive definition of success, we asked Mark to share his simple but powerful definition:

“Being happy.”

He spoke with students about how success is not just about trophies or achievements, but about enjoying what you do, learning from challenges, giving your best effort, and and building a positive mindset. He shared a positive phrase he’ll say to himself that helps him:

“All is Good.”

Having Mark talk about how it helps him was an important reminder for students that mindset matters.

A big thank you to Mark for always making time to inspire the students and bringing these lessons to life in such a meaningful way.

05/12/2026

We’re grateful to be invited on podcast to share why we’re so passionate about helping students develop a healthy mindset around success, and how Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success can help them become their Personal Best. Partnering with the dedicated educators throughout Palm Springs Unified School District is truly special to us. A big thank you to host Joan Boiko for having us!

05/04/2026

What if students taught the Pyramid of Success?

In this class, two students shared what the Pyramid of Success means to them and how they would teach it to their classmates, showing that the best way to understand something is to teach it.

You could really see it start to click as they explained it in their own words.

This is something any classroom can try. Teachers can pair students together and have them take turns teaching the Pyramid of Success to the class.

We always love seeing how different classrooms bring this to life. Tag us if you try it. We’d love to see it!

04/13/2026

One of our favorite parts of going into classrooms . . . Talking with students about what success really means, and then giving them a chance to make it their own.

We had students create these “Success Plants” as a way to connect Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success to their own lives.

They thought about effort, character, and even the words they can say to themselves to be their Personal Best.

A simple, fun project that helps students see that success grows from effort.

04/06/2026

LOCAL STUDENTS GET A WOMEN'S HISTORY LESSON ON THE ORIGINAL 9

We're grateful to partner with the WTA Foundation and incredible friends and role models like Ann Austin (WTA Foundation Executive Director), tennis champions Kathy Rinaldi, and Trish Bostrom to bring these lessons to life for thousands of students.

From positive self-talk and writing down your dreams to self-belief, courage, and standing up for fairness, the story of the Original 9 helps students see how character and doing their personal best can make a positive difference in the world.

👉 Full story:
https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4479461/local-students-get-a-womens-history-lesson-on-the-original-9

During Women’s History Month at the BNP Paribas Open, Kathy Rinaldi, Trish Bostrom and Ann Austin brought the story of the Original 9 into local classrooms, connecting tennis history to lessons on confidence, leadership and standing up for opportunity.

03/01/2026

We were honored to be part of BNP Paribas Open Family Day once again. ❤️🎾

This year marked 14 years of being involved with Kids Day (since 2012), and we’re always appreciative of the opportunity to introduce Coach Wooden’s lessons on success to the families.
Our “Success Plant” coloring activity helped kids (and parents!) learn about Coach Wooden’s teachings on success, not as winning or trophies, but as giving your best effort.

Each leaf represented a character trait from the Pyramid of Success, Friendship, Cooperation, Self-Control, Determination, Confidence, and more.

The pot represents the soil… the foundation. Because strong character is what allows everything else to grow.
And on the pot, children added inspirational stickers with positive self-talk phrases, little reminders like “Never Give Up,” “Live Your Dream,” and “Go for it!” We talked about how the words we say to ourselves matter and ignites a positive mindset to want to give your best effort.

Thank you to BNP Paribas Open for continuing to value character education and allowing us to share this message with families in the community. We are grateful to be part of this special event year after year.