The Missing Piece to Raising Independent Kids  (That Nobody Teaches You)

Parents often recognize the signs before they recognize the term itself: disorganization (a black-hole backpack); task paralysis (nightly trouble starting homework); out of sight, out of mind (forgetting important tasks); time blindness (wildly underestimating how long an assignment will take); persistent interrupting; or trouble shifting tasks (stopping a video game to come eat dinner.) 

While these challenges may seem unrelated, they are often connected to one important set of cognitive skills: executive functioning.

Executive functioning skills are essential for helping students manage themselves, their learning, their behavior, and their responsibilities independently. At Peck, we believe these skills are just as important as academic knowledge in preparing students for success in school and beyond.
 

What is Executive Functioning?

Executive functioning is the set of cognitive processes that helps students plan, focus attention, regulate emotions, solve problems, and gain independence.
Peck teachers often describe executive functioning to students as “the boss in your brain”— the part of the brain responsible for helping you decide what to focus on, how to stay organized, how to manage your emotions, and how to follow through.

Executive functioning skills include:

• organization
• time management
• working memory
• impulse control
• emotional self-regulation
• task initiation
• sustained attention
• planning and prioritization
• metacognition (the ability to reflect on one’s own thinking and learning)
• cognitive flexibility

These skills are critical for developing independent learners who can confidently navigate increasing academic and social demands over time.
 

Why Executive Functioning Skills Matter

Academic knowledge alone is not enough for success.

In order to thrive in school and life, students must also develop the ability to regulate emotions, adapt to challenges, stay focused, manage time and advocate for themselves. Strong executive functioning skills support everything from completing homework and managing long-term projects to building resilience and navigating relationships.

In many ways, executive functioning skills are stronger predictors of long-term success than test scores alone. Students with strong executive functioning skills are often better equipped to handle setbacks, take ownership of their learning, and grow into confident, capable problem-solvers.

Just like academic, athletic, and artistic skills, executive functioning skills can be innate strengths but can also be strengthened and developed with intentionality. 

A Research-Based Approach to Executive Functioning at Peck

Executive functioning is not treated as an “extra” layer of learning at Peck—rather, it is intentionally woven into the student experience every day.

Earlier this year, Peck faculty participated in professional development with Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, a nationally recognized school psychologist, speaker, and author whose work focuses on executive functioning, conscious parenting, and student development. Branstetter describes executive functioning as the brain’s “control center” for self-regulation and goal achievement.
Following this professional development, faculty members identified specific executive functioning goals to focus on throughout the year.

In addition, Peck’s Academic Council formed a committee dedicated to researching optimal ways that executive functioning develops during the elementary to middle school years. The committee is also documenting how these skills are intentionally supported across grade levels.

This work helps ensure that expectations, instruction, and support remain developmentally appropriate while also providing students with increasing opportunities for independence and ownership as they mature.

Peck also continues to deepen its use of Responsive Classroom practices, which emphasize structure, consistency, reflection, and relationship-building. Research shows that consistent routines, visual supports, and explicit instruction in classroom procedures help strengthen students’ focus, planning, organization, and self-regulation skills.

In practice, this can look like:

• teaching students how to break apart multi-step projects
• helping students learn how to prioritize responsibilities
• using planners and schedules intentionally
• building predictable classroom routines
• creating opportunities for reflection and self-monitoring
• gradually increasing student independence and ownership
   

Rather than expecting students to simply “figure it out,” Peck teachers guide students through the process of developing these lifelong skills.
 

Executive Functioning Develops Over Time

Executive functioning skills develop gradually and look different at every stage of childhood and adolescence. At The Peck School, faculty recognize that executive functioning skills develop progressively over time, with certain foundational abilities supporting the development of more complex skills as students grow. 

In the Lower School years, students focus on developing foundational executive functioning skills that support:

• self-regulation
• learning readiness
• classroom independence

These early skills help students build the capacity to manage themselves within a structured environment, interact successfully with peers, and engage more independently in learning tasks.

As students transition into Upper School, there is increasing emphasis on executive functioning skills that support:

• greater independence
• academic ownership
• long-term planning

At this stage, students are encouraged to reflect on their learning processes, manage increasing academic demands, and develop the habits necessary for long-term success both in and beyond the classroom.
 

Preparing Students for Success Beyond Peck

Deliberately developing executive functioning skills helps Peck students reach the goals outlined in the school’s Portrait of a Graduate.

These skills help students:

• become confident, competent lifelong learners
• develop resilience in the face of challenges and setbacks
• strengthen self-awareness and self-advocacy
• contribute meaningfully in the classroom, on the field, and within their communities
• build the independence and adaptability necessary for success in high school and beyond
   

At Peck, we believe learning how to learn is just as important as what students learn.
By intentionally developing executive functioning skills over time, Peck helps students become thoughtful, capable, and increasingly independent learners prepared for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

Learn more about Peck’s Executive Functioning Committee headed by Amy Cohen and Dr. Lisa Pithers or schedule a visit to see our approach in action.