GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) – Kids at Starr Elementary School in Grand Island had a good time jumping, singing and showing off their dance skills on Monday morning during a performance from hip hop artist, pastor and motivational speaker, CJ Luckey.
Luckey is CEO of the Celebrating All Persevering Students (CAPS) program, which is both entertaining and teaches kids about being resilient, which is backed by science. His program is taught to the kids through his music, and his message to them during performances is simple.
”We promote the growth mindset and the underlying theme of our celebration is perseverance,” Luckey said. “We want to change the way our students look at struggle and change the way they look at failure. It’s a lot of fun and our mission is to encourage, empower and inspire the next generation.”
One of the songs performed was called ‘The power of Yet,’ which encourages kids not to give up and was inspired by the research of Dr. Carol Dweck from Stanford University.
”When I read her book, ‘The Growth Mindset,’ I was very inspired,” Luckey said. “My wife, who is also an educator, she encouraged me, like, ‘Hey CJ, teachers are always looking for creative and innovative ways to teach these concepts and so, I wrote my own lyrics and produced the song and here we are with ‘The Power of Yet.’”
That message of perseverance not only resonates with the kids, but the teachers as well. One of those teachers, Andrew Strek, whose fourth grade class was the first to contact Luckey through a letter and get him to the school, says it’s very important for people of all ages.
”Today may have been the worst day you’ve had all year, but that doesn’t mean tomorrow has to be,” Strek said. “Maybe students are struggling with a really hard concept and they don’t get it the first two days, but if you keep persevering and trying, they will eventually get it, you just have to keep trying.”
Principal Selena Valentine said the message coming from Luckey is consistent with the values kids at Starr are taught every day.
”I think at the heart of what we do, is how are we going to become a good person and so we talk every day about what it takes and what do we believe in and perseverance and resilience fit right in with all of those,” Valentine said.
The day ended with a thank you to teachers and high fives, as the kids went to their classes. Luckey hopes going forward that the kids get a lot of motivation out of the performance.
”I want them to leave encouraged, inspired and not just knowing the lyrics to the songs, but to know that, yes they can do great things, yes they can overcome obstacles and hurdles and challenges,” Luckey said. “They can persevere, show grit, be resilient and that they can go on to do great things.”
To learn more about the CAPS Program, or check out the inspirational music from CJ Luckey, you can go to the CAPS program website.
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