Measuring Success

On the afternoon of April 17th a group of 75 kids walked from Mountain View Elementary down California Ave to the Jordan River Parkway.  From there we walked down the path to 1700 S, picking up trash all along the way.  This was part of the Hartland Community Adopt-a-Trail program through Hartland Community 4 Youth & Families (HC4YF).  The group was accompanied by teachers and led by Gilberto Rejón Magana, executive director of HC4YF and head coach of the Hartland Youth Soccer Club.  The goal of this outing was to get kids out into nature and to help clean up the path along the way.  Another goal was to introduce these kids to the HC4YF organization and the opportunities available to them through it..
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The kids spent the afternoon walking, laughing and doing a community service in a natural environment in their neighborhood.  They learned about an organization that provides fun, educational opportunities for them as they get older.

That is success.

This is success.

"We are going to have a great year!" Says Gilberto Rejón Magana, known throughout the Hartland community as Coach Juan.  "Typically we not only meet but exceed our goals.  But you know even when things don't go as planned if we learn it is still a success."
That is the growth mindset in action.  Always seeking to learn, to grow, to improve.
It is important to find metrics of success, and building those is something we are actively doing at HC4YF and look forward to sharing.  But sometimes success is measured in smiles and laughter, sometimes success is a lesson learned rather than a point on a graph.

No matter how accurate our tools become at measuring HC4YF's long-term success, it is important we not lose sight of the importance of a single day, a smile, a group of kids laughing.  And remember that learning not only leads to great success, but is a great success.