OUR PROGRAMS

Community in Unity program

The Community in Unity program is designed to create community in the classroom that allows for interactions based on personal responsibility, collaboration, leadership, connection, and respect.

This “culture of community” supports the student population in looking at and addressing concerns and issues before they reach a serious stage, which additionally supports teachers and staff in creating an effective learning environment.

Our well established programs provide social and emotional learning in an experiential way and tailored to the students we are serving.  Students will learn how to self regulate their behavior and self calm.  Our processes provide creative ways for students to set goals and be responsible for accomplishing them.  One of the most important components of their learning will be their ability to develop resilient relationships.

Teacher and staff are supported by our facilitators and our programs.  Teachers tend to have fewer behavioral problems because students can handle them before they escalate.  We work with the teachers and staff to tailor individual classroom needs.

The Program will consist of these five (5) pillars. Each pillar details are determined through the needs of this particular school environment.

1. Affirmation and Encouragement are Inside Jobs – Students learn to look for the best in themselves and then affirm that goodness. It is important to be your own hero, your own champion. This also provides direction when discipline is needed.
   Outcomes: shift the bully/victim paradigm, positive goal setting, responsible relationships

2. I Can Be Trusted – Students discover that trust and respect are key factors in trusting themselves to make wise decisions and to have healthy, resilient relationships.
   Outcomes: understanding components of respect for self and others, resilient relationships, responsible decision-making

3. Peace Table – Productive Conflict – Students and teachers develop the ability to self-reliantly problem solve, especially when there is conflict with one another. Students get to practice this in real time ways.
   Outcomes: quick and simple tool for conflict, less disciplinary referrals, positive reinforced behavior by moving on from mistakes

4. Feelings are Superpowers – Students learn how to navigate and regulate a variety of feelings (happy, mad, sad, scared, and embarrassed). They also discover how to feel feelings first rather than needing to always express them.
   Outcomes: understanding of empathy for self and others, caring without feeling sorry for

5. Self-Calming – Throughout the program, with each focus, student will learn effective ways to listen to their bodies so that they can self-calm before they feel or behave out of control.
   Outcomes: self-regulation with the management of the expression of feelings, self directed and easily redirected.

ALTERNATIVE TO VIOLENCE PROGRAM

Our trained facilitators will guide the youth (and parents) for 7 weeks. Each week of working with the youth in the Alternative to Violence Program will include guided somatic work, mindfulness, or integrated teaching through chess or martial arts, as well as experiential learning in the following four foundational pillars:

1. The Statement of Purpose – Youth will identify their core values, create a statement of purpose, and explore how to live from their statement of purpose even in times of conflict or challenge.  Facilitators will guide participants on how to practice their “I AM Statement” to fully embody it in their lives, and all will have an experience of declaring their statement.  This fosters responsibility, self-confidence, and self-regulation. 

2. Trust – Youth will explore the components of operating from a place of trustworthiness and the difference that will make in their lives. They will also examine self-trust.  Participants will practice the “leadership trust” which is an agreement they will make to show up as trustworthy. This fosters leadership, trustworthiness, cooperation, community, and collaboration. 

3. Feelings – Youth will enhance their ability to identify their feelings, to feel their feelings, and to use their feelings as a guide to greater understanding of themselves. They will discern the difference between feeling their feelings and expressing their feelings. This fosters self-awareness, self-acceptance, and broadening one’s perception to see multiple options and opportunities rather than habitual behavior from their feelings.

4. The Peace Table – By learning and practicing the seven steps to using The Peace Table, participants will become skilled at productive conflict. This fosters closer relationships, great connection, skilled communication, and empathy.

During the program, each youth participant will have time to not only learn about the four pillars, but to experience them as well. Each concept will be networked together in supportive, understandable, and practical ways so that there is ease in putting it into practice in daily life. Each session will include learning icebreakers so that participants get to know and connect with one another. Large group and small group activities will be included. An atmosphere of safety, shared community, understanding, and empathy will be created from the beginning.

Teacher Trainings

Our workshops for teachers on social emotional learning have provided the tools for educators to embed the skills from our Community in Unity program in their classrooms long after our program ends. We have workshops on creating greater cooperation in the classroom, teachers as leaders, and building the teaching team in schools. We are happy to create a custom workshop for your school that meets your specific needs.   

1 “Ready to Lead” – A report for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) based on a national principal survey on how SEL can prepare children and transform schools

2 Recent study from The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)