StudentMotivation.org Project
Building connections, from age 3 to 23, between students, families, family history, and life goals, changes everything! Read Project History 2005 to 2025 to better understand improvements made. Go to https://schooltimecapsule.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-studentmotivationorg-project-history.html
Guided by letters, the project rests on students writing letters to themselves every year about their own goals for their life. This begins in third grade, but valuable family letters read to the student may begin the very first year in school, possibly at age three in PK3.
Letters to Student
The project foundation is centered in annual letters to students at any age, from 3 to 23, from each parent, grandparent, great grandparent, and close relative, letters that inspire connection and reflection. These letters will always include dreams for the student and a new story from family history. One or more, parents for each 40 students volunteer to be Grade Postmaster Volunteers for their child’s class. They store envelopes in the School Time Capsule Vault and return them for each student 10 months later. They follow their child’s class year to year doing this priceless work.
Pre-K to 2nd grade Letters
The letters may start being written to children at age 3. Parents and relatives capture the magic of the early years with heartfelt annual letters to their child about goals and family stories. They always read the letter to their student until the child can read it themselves. They answer questions their child may have. What grandparent would not want to have such priceless time with their grandchild? All letters are placed into one self-addressed envelope to be sent to school where the Grade Postmaster Volunteers collect them to be stored in the School Time Capsule Vault. Postmasters return envelopes in 10 months. Letters are re-read preparing for the next year’s letter writing.
3rd to 11th grade Letters
Once students can write they themselves write a letter requesting a letter from the family members who have written before, sometimes adding a new one. They immediately read the letters they receive, and ask to meet with the writer to discuss details. All letters are brought to class on the same day for students to prepare their self-addressed envelope. Then they write a letter to themselves about each letter received and their own plans for their future. Again the same Grade Postmaster Volunteer collects the envelopes and stores them for 10 months in the Schools Time Capsule Vault. The annual pattern is repeated.
12th grade Letters
All 12th grade letters address dreams for 10-years into the future. Letters received continue to be read immediately and be discussed with the letter writers, in person if possible, or by phone if long distance. But the envelopes with these letters, including the most important letter by the graduating student about their own plans, will remain in the School Time Capsule Vault until the first class 10-year reunion.
10-year Reunions
The Journey Continues in 10-years as classmates reunite to share stories, reflect on 10-year letters and inspire the next generation. The Postmaster Volunteers who have followed this class, with their own student for possibly the full 15 years, will be at a table to return these valuable envelopes to students they have gotten to know.
Is there any doubt student achievement and self-confidence will have grown dramatically during all 15 years, age 3 to 18, due to the focus on goals and family roots?
How Voluntering to be Postmaster for Your Child’s Class Changes Life!
Volunteers see the change!
Postmasters work less than 20 hours over the entire school year for their child’s grade they are Postmaster for. They can volunteer to be Postmaster for more than one grade. They help these priceless letters follow the students and return home at the end of 10 months. The goal is to have one Postmaster Volunteer for each 40 students.
Project is very low cost!
It is recommended a parent fund-raising campaign be done after the first year for the 700 pound vault needed to function as the school Time Capsule holding the letters for high schools. Other schools may have a smaller vault as they are not keeping letters for 10 years. The fundraising time is a time for more educating of families about the Project. The vault should be located in the highest visibility location possible in a school so as many students as possible see it daily, usually in the school lobby.
Obvious Growth in student academics
Schools will experience a lowering of dropout rates with rising grades and achievement. Fewer behavioral issues will be hindering such progress! Student self-confidence grows! With all students in all grades receiving annual letters from each parent, grandparent, or other close relative, student achievement soars!
Correlation between letter writing & progress is clear
See the report in the “Research” section of this web site covering the School Effectiveness Indices (SEI) scores from 2006 through 2023 in 32 non-magnet DISD middle schools. The writing of letters for the School Time Capsule Project by all students is now more highly correlated with ever higher student achievement through the SEI scores in Dallas ISD!
Student, parent, & Educator Testimonials
While hundreds have valued this project since 2005, the online collection of statements is just starting.
The Family and School Time Capsule Project was born in the 2004/05 school year at Quintanilla Middle School after teachers discussed ways to improve student achievement and graduation rates. The initial focus on students writing about life goals expanded over the years to include the exploration of family roots in annual letters from each parent and grandparent about dreams and family history stories. By 2019 such priceless discussions within families, ultimately documented in letters within the family, more than doubled the 40% graduation rates that existed before 2005. As student achievement grew, the use of the School Effectiveness Indices (SEI) scores was started to better document progress from increased student and family focus on goals and family roots. But the Covid-19 Pandemic struck in 2020! All letter writing stopped! SEI scores dropped! Only Rosemont Upper School resumed letter writing in 2021. Their SEI score grew as other Project schools SEI scores dropped. By 2023 Rosemont had gained 10 SEI points to become among the two highest SEI scoring of all 33 middle schools. Quintanilla, among the highest 3 SEI scoring middle school in 2018 & 2019, never resumed letter writing after 2020. They lost SEI points until by 2024 only 2 of the 30 middle schools in DISD had lower SEI scores than Quintanilla! Family letters about goals and family roots make a real difference! In 2024 South Oak Cliff High School (SOC) became the first high school to use the all-grade, all student model of the Project. In 2024 the SEI for SOC went from a 10-year SEI average in 2023 that was third from the bottom among the 22 non-magnet high schools to being 3rd from the top of all 22 high schools with their 2024 SEI score! The goal for 2025 is to improve the SOC letter writing focus on roots and goals, and ultimately improve the SOC 2025 SEI score to be the highest of all 22 non-magnet high schools! Already, with the 2024 score of 54.0, SOC has a higher SEI score than 40% of magnet schools! I welcome any questions. Please put “Time Capsule Project” in the subject line and email questions to bbetzen@aol.com. – Bill Betzen
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Improve schools you love anywhere
This simple project focused on family roots and student goals can dramatically improve any school in the World with the work of volunteers supported by educators. As an open-source project it is free to use. We only ask that improvements discovered be shared with our online community.
The StudentMotivation.org Project uses 500, or 700 pound vaults in high school, to symbolize the value of Roots & Goals!
South Oak Cliff High Schjool (SOC) in 2024 was first DISD high school to have all students in all grades write letters themselves about their plans for their future.