Lilly Initiative Support

Creation of indoor gross motor spaces

A body of literature highlights the indirect effects of gross motor skill development and physical activity on children’s academic achievement. Gross motor skills are the abilities needed to control the large muscles of the body for fundamental movements like running, jumping, and balancing. Gross motor skills enable children to interact with their environment through movement, laying a critical foundation for lifelong health, social and emotional well-being, adaptive skills, cognitive abilities, and academic achievement (Vagnetti et al., 2025). Tomporowski (2011) proposed a working model explaining that physical activity indirectly affects academic achievement by enhancing children’s self-efficacy and improving physical fitness and other health factors. Moreover, when gross motor activity is incorporated into the school day, it sustains cognitive concentration and increases attention (Altenburg et al., 2016), executive function skills (Egger et al., 2019), and on-task behavior (Goh et al., 2016).

Three separate meta-analyses of the literature on physical activity and academic achievement in school age children found consistent, positive relationships. Specifically, Wang & Wang (2024) found that gross motor skills positively impact overall academic performance, Li and colleagues’ (2023) comprehensive review found that physical activity integrated into the academic curriculum was associated with increased academic achievement, particularly in math, and Fedewa & Ahn’s (2011) analysis of over five decades of research found that physical activity positively influences children’s achievement.

Providing dedicated space for gross motor activity will benefit all Sycamore School students by contributing to their physical and cognitive development. Research shows that the effects may be especially impactful for our largest group of 2e students: those with ADHD. Physical exercise benefits children with ADHD by increasing attention and improving executive function skills overall (Sun et al., 2022). Additionally, introducing routine gross motor movement for students with ADHD reduces hyperactivity and impulsivity (Smith et al., 2013).

Creation of dedicated learning resource spaces

The proposed creation of dedicated learning resource spaces is based on research studies demonstrating the positive impact of these spaces on student achievement and academic self-concept, particularly for students with learning disabilities. Within these spaces, students can receive direct instruction targeting skill deficits in specific subject areas. Suhail et al. (2012) found significant increases in reading and math achievement when students with diagnosed learning disabilities received instruction in a resource room, and Brownstein (2016) found a significant positive relationship between time spent in learning resource rooms and mathematical achievement for students with learning disabilities in grades three through five. Additionally, a meta-analytic review found that small group instruction (fewer than five students) improves math and reading achievement for students with academic difficulties (Dietrichson et al., 2021). Finally, students’ sense of academic competence and self-concept, social acceptance, and self-worth were found to be higher when support took place in learning resource spaces (Renick & Harter, 1989; Savolainen et al., 2018). Creating designated learning resource spaces will allow Sycamore to provide targeted small group instruction to support the achievement of our 2e population.

Development of outdoor purpose-built learning spaces

A growing body of research indicates that our creation of a natural, outdoor learning space will have a positive effect on our students through both a direct impact on their academic achievement and an indirect impact on achievement through increased social and emotional skill development and well-being.

Researchers posit that exposure to nature is beneficial for cognitive functioning for two primary reasons. According to the Attention Restoration Theory, visual exposure to nature has an intense restorative impact on directed attention such that after exposure to greenness, the capacity to focus attention is restored (Mason et al., 2022). This theory is particularly relevant to our project’s goal of increasing academic achievement in our 2e population given that the most prevalent additional exceptionality is ADHD. Secondly, the benefits of exposure to nature for cognitive functioning are also explained through the Stress Reduction Theory wherein time spent in nature reduces physiological arousal and refuels the energy spent in responding to stress, leading to increased well-being (Mason et al., 2022). This theory has particular relevance to our project’s second goal of improving social and emotional skills.

Findings from empirical studies also support the benefits of natural learning spaces on academic performance and social and emotional skill development. Specifically, studies found that for elementary and middle school students, exposure to the natural environment was positively related to higher standardized test scores in both math and English (Kuo et al., 2021; Kweon et al., 2017; Tallis et al., 2018; Wu, 2014). Of particular significance are the findings from a comprehensive review (Mason et al., 2022) examining the effects of short term exposure to nature (10-90 minutes a day) on cognitive performance. In this review, 12 out of 14 studies found that across educational levels, cognitive benefits were found for attention restoration due to contact with nature. Since our students will utilize our proposed natural playspace for a similar duration each day, the finding of this review supports the benefits of our proposal.

Exposure to natural playspaces also has an indirect effect on academic achievement through positive influence on social and emotional skill development. A comprehensive review of the literature (Vitale & Bonaiuto, 2024) found that exposure to nature positively impacts overall emotion regulation and specific strategies for individuals of all ages, including children (Liang et al., 2024; Mygind et al., 2022). In particular, schools with natural playspaces instead of more traditional artificial playgrounds see positive results in SEL. West (2018) found that when students with sensory processing challenges and autism were exposed to a natural learning environment, they demonstrated increased motivation, retention of information, and a decrease in sensory processing distress contributing to an increase in self-efficacy and self-advocacy. Access to natural playscapes also promotes exploratory and investigative play fostering problem-solving and collaboration (Kuh et al., 2013) and enhances students’ social skills, emotional self-regulation, and self-esteem (Hamarstrom, 2012). For example, the laboratory school of Tufts University replaced their older playground with natural playscapes, and the new spaces were found to support social and emotional learning through collaboration and constructive play (Kuh et al., 2013).

Establish new staff positions and increase the scope of current positions

New staff positions are needed to meet our goals of improving academic achievement for our 2e learners and improving social and emotional skills for all our students. Recommendations vary as to the ideal “caseload” of students for each Learning Resource Specialist. For the 20 states with explicit policies on special education caseload, the mean number of maximum students was 31.56 students for each specialist (Hogue & Taylor, 2020). For the 2025-2026 school year, Sycamore will have a ratio of 40 diagnosed 2e students for each specialist. This is an improvement thanks to additional staffing made possible through Lilly Endowment’s Phase 2 grant. Phase 3 funds would further reduce this ratio to 27 to one. We also need to increase existing staff capacity to better meet the needs of our 2e students through targeted professional development. Educating 2e students requires trained personnel to ensure they receive advanced learning opportunities (Lee & Ritchotte, 2018; Sakar & Baloglu, 2025).

Sycamore currently lacks a school counselor despite the fact that gifted children experience the same concerns that bring other students to a school counselor (Wood & Peterson, 2018). Research shows that improving the school student-to-counselor ratio positively impacts elementary students’ behavior and significantly increases academic achievement on standardized tests (Carrell & Hoekstra, 2014; Domina et al., 2022). For middle school, research shows that a lower student-to-counselor ratio is associated with increased achievement in math (Domina et al., 2022). A counselor will allow Sycamore to provide needed mental health assistance and enhance overall student well-being. Specialized knowledge of the gifted population will be important to ensure the effectiveness of a counselor (Cross & Cross, 2021). Moreover, a counselor can facilitate effective implementation of our new Wayfinder SEL curriculum. A counselor will also alleviate the burden on classroom teachers as the sole implementers of the SEL curriculum; a counselor could lead a small group of younger students about give-and-take conversations as a means of developing prosocial skills such as listening, patience, eye contact, and empathy.

Focus on SEL

We propose a multifaceted approach for developing SEL and its components of self-regulation, academic self-efficacy, and executive functioning. The findings of research studies on the effectiveness of interventions to support SEL as a whole, and executive functioning specifically, on academic achievement are robust. Four meta-analyses reporting on whole school social and emotional interventions found significant increases in academic performance surpassing many other educational interventions (Durlak et al., 2022). Research findings show the consistent, positive effects of executive functioning skills on academic outcomes such as improved reading, writing, and math scores for both children and adolescents (Elhusseini et al., 2022; Gunzenhauser & Nückles, 2021; Jacob & Parkinson, 2015). Finally, additional researchers have asserted that both executive functioning skills and emotional intelligence should be intentionally developed in classrooms to maximize academic achievement (Martí et al., 2023).

Lilly Endowment Initiative Research and Support