Partner With Us Impact & Research
Experience made visible. Practice informed by research.
Exhale To Excel brings together school-partnership experience, the perspectives of participating school communities, established research foundations, and practical measurement planning.
I learned how to control my emotions.
Exhale To Excel Student
Our Experience
The Difference Becomes Visible
These figures describe Exhale To Excel’s direct implementation experience to date. They are not claims of causal program effectiveness.
Partner Schools & Systems
Built Through Practice. Strengthened Through Partnership.
Exhale To Excel has worked with students and educators across elementary, middle, and high-school settings through student learning experiences, educator support, targeted programming, and school partnerships.
In Their Words
What School Communities Are Experiencing
These testimonials reflect individual reported experiences. They should be understood as partner perspectives rather than formal evaluation findings.
Jamella has worked with the Jobs for Alabama’s Graduates program for the past three years. Within this span of time, I have witnessed my students grow from an uncomfortable space to eagerly looking forward to Mondays with Jamella. Exhale To Excel has allowed my students to take an introspective look at themselves and assess their interpersonal relationships. Creating an atmosphere of “Zen” has led my students to have clearer minds, which ultimately impacted their school work positively. Jamella’s ability to break down barriers and walls due to trauma is remarkable. I highly recommend Exhale To Excel for all school-aged children.
The Exhale To Excel program provided our students with practical tools to manage stress, build emotional awareness, and stay focused on learning. The strategies were age-appropriate, engaging, and easy for students to apply throughout the school day. The results were noticeable both behaviorally and academically. I highly recommend the Exhale To Excel program!
Exhale To Excel has been a powerful and transformative addition to our school environment, providing students with a safe, structured space to pause, regulate emotions, and refocus through intentional breathing, mindfulness, and social-emotional practices. I have observed increased emotional regulation, improved behavior, greater academic focus, and a calmer approach to learning, particularly among students who struggle with anxiety or self-regulation. What sets Exhale To Excel apart is its intentional, developmentally appropriate curriculum and the care and authenticity with which it is delivered. The program supports the whole child emotionally, mentally, and physically. This aligns seamlessly with school goals and is helpful in having a more balanced school culture.
Partnership Recognition
Stronger Together Partnership Award
Fairfield City Schools honored Exhale To Excel with the Stronger Together Partnership Award in recognition of three years of service to students at Glen Oaks Intermediate School, C. J. Donald Middle School, and Fairfield High Preparatory School. The partnership has supported students in developing emotional regulation skills across multiple grade levels.
Grounded in Research · Measured in Practice
A Research-Informed Foundation
Exhale To Excel is aligned with established research on social-emotional skill development, regulation, supportive classroom climate, engagement, and effective classroom implementation.
Social-Emotional Skill Development
A contemporary meta-analysis found that universal school-based SEL participation was associated with significant improvements across skills, attitudes, behavior, school climate and safety, peer relationships, school functioning, and academic achievement. Context and implementation quality influenced outcomes.
Cipriano et al., 2023Supportive Classroom Climate
A systematic review and meta-analysis found that classroom climate had positive associations with social competence, motivation and engagement, and academic achievement. These associations do not establish that any single framework will produce identical outcomes.
Wang et al., 2020Teaching, Practice, Choice & Reflection
Institute of Education Sciences guidance supports directly teaching and modeling expected skills, offering instructional choices, providing opportunities for students to respond and engage, and teaching students to monitor and reflect on behavior.
What Works ClearinghouseThis research supports the rationale and design principles underlying Exhale To Excel. It does not, by itself, establish program-specific effectiveness. Partner schools identify local priorities, baseline indicators, and a plan for examining implementation and progress.
How Progress Is Examined
Connecting Implementation to Meaningful Indicators
We work with partners to clarify what they want to strengthen, what successful implementation should look like, and which indicators are reasonable to examine.
- Student regulation knowledge or confidence
- Educator co-regulation and response confidence
- Classroom engagement observations
- Behavioral referrals or classroom removals
- Attendance and participation patterns
- School-climate indicators
- Sessions delivered and student participation
- Implementation fidelity and classroom reinforcement
A Practical Measurement Process
Identify Priorities
Clarify the student, educator, or school conditions the partnership is intended to support.
Establish a Baseline
Review available data, current practices, and relevant perceptions before implementation.
Monitor Implementation
Track participation, delivery, reinforcement, and implementation consistency.
Examine Progress
Review agreed indicators and identify patterns, strengths, and areas requiring additional support.
Refine the Approach
Use what is learned to strengthen future implementation and partnership decisions.
Measurement clarification: Measures and reporting methods vary by partnership. Changes in school-level outcomes may be influenced by multiple factors and should not automatically be attributed to Exhale To Excel alone.
Bring Exhale To Excel to Your School
Build a partnership around the outcomes that matter locally.
We can help your school clarify priorities, select an implementation pathway, and identify meaningful ways to examine progress.