ASSET is a ready-to-use social & emotional curriculum for middle and high school students:
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06/17/2025
Last week, we attended the Social Innovation Summit and left feeling extremely grateful for the humans investing in youth mental health and well-being. A special gratitude to of l who has been a leader in advocating for a greater investment in global mental health. Through a synthesis of findings, Prospira identified a substantial global financing gap for mental health18, estimated to be around $200 billion USD.
05/09/2025
Shoutout to Jessie Morgan at DSST GVR High School!
For the past 5 years, Jessie has been a steady and passionate leader of Upstream at GVR—helping her students explore tools for mental wellness both in and beyond the classroom. Her commitment to offering meaningful wellness options and creating a supportive, reflective space for her students is truly inspiring. We’re so grateful for the care, consistency, and heart she brings to this work!✨
04/24/2025
Got pre-test jitters? Here's a solution. 💛
Creating a Happy Bank is a science-backed way to perform well under pressure. Here's how to make one in under 6 minutes:
✨ Happy Bank Tool
Start with 3 deep breaths.
Ask students to list their happiest moments.
📝 A funny story
🐾 A walk with a furry friend
🥳 A proud achievement
🤗 Time with loved ones
Have them save the list and revisit before big tests.
🧠 Positive emotions boost creativity, problem-solving, and calm.
03/28/2025
🎥 What we’ve been up to this week: capturing the impact of our Mental Health Changemakers Fellowship on video!
We kicked off the week in Greenville, SC at the incredible —a long-time partner with two current fellows on their team. The joy and creativity in that school is something special, and it was an honor to highlight their story.
Then it was back to Colorado to interview savinay nathan from the , whose early support helped launch the Fellowship back in 2020. We also interviewed one of our inaugural fellows, Eddie Chavez, of .
This trip reminded us just how powerful relationships are. We’re grateful to partner with schools and funders that care deeply about the well-being of both educators and students.
Stay tuned for the final video—we can’t wait to share it with you! 💙
01/30/2025
📣 As 2025 unfolds, we’re embracing reflection and finding joy in the little things. Inspired by visionary leader Natalie Kuhn () and her Unrecognized Forms of Self-Care list, we’re adding:
✨ Drinking water
✨ Making your bed
✨ Sending unsolicited gratitude notes
✨ Taking a deep breath before replying
✨ Saying “no” without guilt
✨ Watching the sunrise or sunset
✨ Celebrating small wins (like folding laundry!)
💬 What would you add to this list? Let’s start the year by embracing grace and kindness toward ourselves.
12/20/2024
Wishing our Upstream community a holiday filled with health, happiness, and well-deserved rest! 💙✨
12/16/2024
Upstream isn’t just for students! Our Personal Practice Toolkit for Educators helps teachers prioritize their own well-being too. Self-care isn’t selfish! 🧘♀️
Photo by Max Fischer
12/11/2024
Last month, our founder, Tessa Zimmerman, was featured as a panelist during the ‘Access, Innovation, and Advocacy in the Digital Age’ session at ! As we look towards the future, we’re excited to continue conversations with fellow industry leaders about leveraging technology to make mental health resources more accessible for all students.
12/09/2024
Small steps, big impact! Our bite-sized tools are helping students build resilience one 10-minute lesson at a time. 💪
Photo by RDNE Stock project
12/04/2024
In the spirit of Aimee Meredith Cox’s “We got us” message we shared in our newsletter a few weeks ago, we’re excited to announce the return of our free virtual wellness live classes. These sessions will feature breathwork, yoga, meditations in Spanish, movement, and writing reflections.
Our first session will be on Wednesday, December 11th at 5pm MT / 7pm ET with our dear friend, Soeuraya Wilson, Manager of Teacher Training at The Class. Soeuraya is our trusted guide for navigating big emotions with grace and clarity. When we need space to feel, reflect, and move forward, she’s the one we turn to. In this special Zoom session, Soeuraya will lead participants through a soothing meditation and a reflective journaling prompt—a balm for both the heart and mind.
This session will not be recorded. To join us live, head to our comments section for the Google Form link and we’ll send the Zoom link to participate.
As always, we are here to help support you and your community.
10/29/2024
🚀 We’re excited to share a challenge from our friends at !
Feel like you can’t stop scrolling, having a lack of control, agency, and increased compulsion to use your phone?📱 It was designed to be this way. It takes approximately 30 days to reset your dopamine systems- try the detox
10/09/2024
📚 Looking for bite-sized insights on mental health and student well-being? Check out our resources on our website to hear students share tips and stories on handling anxiety, isolation, and more!
Photo by CDC on Unsplash
ASSET was inspired by two extraordinary educators: Suellen Inwood and Chris Quirk. Their student, Tessa Zimmerman, grew up with severe anxiety in the classroom. It wasn't until she attended the high school led by Suellen and Chris that she learned the tools to cope.
For Tessa's college thesis, she wanted to make these tools accessible to classrooms everywhere. In 2016, ASSET entered its first academic class at DSST: Green Valley Ranch High School and quickly earned recognition for its success. In February of 2016, Tessa won the Denver Public Schools Imaginarium Innovation Lab Design Challenge to launch ASSET's first professional development and formalize a partnership with the Imaginarium.
She teamed up with Brent Modak, the first teacher to pilot ASSET, to formalize the curriculum and professional development program.
In January of 2017, Signe Hawley, a Research Partner at the Denver Public Schools Imaginarium Innovation Lab, began conducting case studies on ASSET's impact and found remarkable results.