Executive functioning—It may be a term you’re hearing for the first time, or something that you’ve been working on with your son for a long time. The foundations and skills of it are likely the things that help you manage your day, your work, and many of your daily responsibilities.

Time management, organization systems, prioritizing tasks, task initiation, flexibility, and goal setting are just a few of the skills that fall under executive functioning. As adults, we often do these things without even having to think about it. For Middle School students, however, they require explicit instruction, repeated practice, and continued reinforcement.  

Last spring we got curious. Why were so many completed assignments not getting turned in? Why did the three-ring binders that fell apart in the hallway have such popularity? Why were assignments that were written on the board in class not written in the planners? Out of this curiosity came a plan, then a spring pilot project, and finally an advisory redesign for the 2025-26 school year. We set out to create a proactive solution that better prepared our boys with the skills necessary to be successful in managing their assignments, time, materials, and how they engaged with their teachers and each other. To gather feedback, we met with parent focus groups, every Middle School boy, and Middle School teachers and administrators. We collected data, looked for trends, and involved the boys in creating a solution. 

The advisory redesign is focusing on the 30-minute block of time each day that is referred to as Scholars & Gentlemen (S&G). Instead of visiting their advisor each day, the boys would now rotate through multiple days of executive functioning class, a reinforcing study skills class, small group content days, character education, and an advisory day. The goal was to provide explicit instruction in executive functioning skills, time for the boys to apply these skills to their current coursework, and small group instruction time with their teachers across their core content areas.  

During our spring pilot program, we engaged Seventh and Eighth Grade students as mentors to help support boys in need of additional support. It became such an important part of the program and is now a cornerstone of this work. This year the Eighth Grader students serve as mentors during executive functioning class to encourage, support, and guide our younger boys.  

The eight day rotation schedule found on Veracross has also been color-coded, and we added colored folders to match the course color. The goal was to make it easier for the boys to bring the correct materials to class each day. In addition to teaching the executive functioning class to all fifth and sixth grade advisees, we continue to develop and refine the curriculum so that it is boy centered. We partner with our teachers to make sure we know about upcoming assignments so that we can support the boys in managing their workload. We are partnering with our community partner—Staying Ahead of the Game—to provide teacher professional development, parent education, and workshops for the boys around executive functioning. We also review grade reports each Monday to ensure we are closely monitoring any students in need of additional intervention and support.  

After the first three weeks, we had 40% less students with grades below 75% compared to the same time last fall and all student athletes were eligible to play for the first time.

We continue to learn, refine, and improve the program each day and hope that each week the boys gain additional skills and strategies to better manage their classwork and commitments not just for this year, but for years to come.  

Sarah Allison serves as the Director of Learning Support Services at Regis. She holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas A&M and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She began teaching in 2005 and has served in many teaching and leadership roles across public, charter, and private schools. Her previous roles include serving as an Adjunct Professor in elementary education, Regional Elementary Literacy Coordinator for KIPP Houston, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction, Instructional Coach, Interventionist, and Professional Development Facilitator. She was a division one soccer player during her undergraduate career and enjoys running, traveling, tennis, reading, and spending time with her family. Sarah is a proud parent of two daughters at Duchesne Academy.

Katie Anderson serves as the School Counselor at Regis. She holds a B.S. in Psychology as well as a specialist level degree in School Psychology from Sam Houston State University. Katie previously worked as a School Psychologist for a public school district for eight years. Katie played division one volleyball during her undergraduate career and currently enjoys working out, reading, cooking, and spending time with family.