SEL stands for Social and Emotional Learning.  SEL covers a wide range of skills, and is an integral part of the BC Curriculum.  SEL skills impact the academic and social experiences of a student, as well as their personal & career outcomes later in life.

As CASEL explains:

SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to:

• • Develop Healthy Identities
  • Manage Emotions
  • Achieve Personal and Collective Goals
  • Feel and Show Empathy for Others
  • Establish and Maintain Supportive Relationships
  • Make Responsible and Caring Decisions.

Source: https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/

Consider this - if a student is struggling with relationships, bullying or other interpersonal issues, academics can quickly fall off the radar due to stress.  Addressing relational and self-management skills builds a strong foundation to succeed academically and otherwise.

For 20 years CFY has built dynamic, FUN & memorable learning experiences, based in research proven strategies.  Our motto of “quality over quantity” allows us to give the best learning experience possible to students, schools and caregivers.

Our Cornerstone Strategies:

1. Novel Experiences – An engaging teaching team, fun activities & challenges, and classroom bonding experiences shake up the school year to help learning stick with students!  If you take a moment to think back to your own student days, it is often the field trips, parties, and unique school experiences that will stick out in your memory the strongest.  Research backs this, continually showing the benefit of novel experiences in creating long-lasting learning^1,2.

2. In-Person Instruction – Technology has opened many new options for learning; however, our brains remain wired for face-to-face learning^,3. We believe in the power of presence, and that there is no better way to share SEL education than being in the classroom.  We continue to prioritize this model in order to give students the best learning experience possible.  It goes back to quality over quantity – we'd rather provide high quality, in-person learning than a less effective, digital experience to a larger audience.  And students and staff love us for it!

3. Top Facilitators – As Theodore Roosevelt says “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Our teaching team are from diverse and extensive backgrounds in education.  They are continuously learning and growing to support each new generation.  Most importantly, our team members care deeply about kids.  From the first moments of programming, we begin getting to know your students by name.  We focus on supporting the existing relationships within your classroom, and providing opportunities to build new ones.  It is because of this deep care that students frequently report enjoying our programs (93%) and recommend that their peers take our programs (93%.) ⁴

4. Learner Community Involvement – Effective SEL education involves the broader community. Our programs rely on partnership with the classroom teacher.  Each class has a teacher/staff member present to connect SEL concepts to their classes’ experiences, before and after the program.  We love partnering with teachers and learning from their classroom.  Our programs also include take home communications to share key concepts with families.  We often present to school PACs, as well as offering a community parenting event each year.  
   *Read more about parenting events under the "adult program" tab in our menu.  Offerings change from year to year based on community need. 

5. Repeated, Reinforced Learning – Another key piece of effective learning is repetition⁵.  To support your students, core lessons are reinforced through each assembly and classroom program.  We also offer year-end SCREAM review sessions, and *new* monthly follow-up lessons for both Voices and SCREAM. Both programs will now include 5-6  follow up lessons that can be implemented each month to remind and reignite important SEL concepts and skills within your classroom!

Research Links:

1. Novelty Speeds Up Learning Thanks to Dopamine Activation:
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200205132255.htm#:~:text=Summary:,is responsible for associative learning.
2. Novelty Improves the Formation and Persistence of Memory in a Naturalistic School Scenario: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7000375/
3. Online Communication Less Effective than in Person, Study Suggests: https://globalnews.ca/news/9415493/zoom-fatigue-online-communication-study/
   Study discussed: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811922007984
4. Statistics from 2022/2023 program surveys of 395 Voices and SCREAM students.
5. Spaced Repetition Promotes Efficient and Effective Learning: Policy Implications for Instruction https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290511665_Spaced_Repetition_Promotes_Efficient_and_Effective_Learning_Policy_Implications_for_Instruction

The benefits of SEL training have been widely studied and found to positively impact:

• Academic Performance
• Mental Wellness
• Healthy Behaviours
• School Climate and Safety
• Social and Emotional Skills
• Future Readiness and Lifetime Outcomes.

These benefits extend to students, adults and school communities.  Investing in SEL experiences is truly an optimal way to make long-lasting impact for your school community!

All information from: https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-does-the-research-say/

Based on SD23’s philosophy of learning, we are building ongoing learning experiences to follow up our week-long programs. After completing the core week of learning, we will provide teachers with follow up mini lessons to reinforce SEL concepts year round. Each program will provide 5-6 lessons via short video and/or activities teachers can pick and choose from to make implementation as simple as possible.

Yes! We consistently refresh program materials, and are always open to feedback to keep materials relevant for students.

Our programs cover the following age ranges:

• Assembly Programs: hour-long sessions suitable for the entire elementary school audience
• Voices: A 5 session program suitable for grades 4 and 5
• SCREAM: A 5 session program suitable for grades 5 to 7
• NEW Middle School Assemblies (PILOTING 2023/2024): hour-long sessions targeted for grade 7 students as a follow up to SCREAM
• NEW High School Volunteering: Opportunities for high school students to give back by volunteering in the classroom with our core programs

All programs build into essential Social Emotional Learning Competencies.  Use the Youth Programs or Adult Programs tabs at the top of the webpage to find more detailed specifics for each program.

• Assemblies are 1 hour in length
• Voices consists of 5 sessions, each 2 hours in length (10 hours total)
• SCREAM consists of 5 sessions, each 2.5 hours in length (12.5 hours total)

We schedule programs for mornings or afternoons, and will work around your break schedule. 

Absolutely. As long as students meet the minimum grade recommended for their program, we can work within splits.  If part of your split is outside the recommended grade, we suggest the following options:

• Providing an alternative activity for a grade that is too young for the program, while the older age takes the program with us.
• Speaking with us if you have a grade that is too old for the program. We have successfully run both Voices and SCREAM with older age groups and may be able to make some adjustments to suit older grades.

Yes.  Each classroom we teach in must have at least 1 staff member present, preferably the classroom’s primary teacher.  The CFY facilitator will handle program teaching, however school staff are invited to take part in all program aspects.  We find that the teachers who engage see the greatest results in student behaviours and adaptations of SEL skills going forward.  We greatly value teacher insight about their class and love partnering with them!

We have dedicated team of professional facilitators to lead our programs. Additionally, we bring in assistants and community volunteers, when available, to round out the team.

Yes!  Workbooks are intentionally designed to provide tools and examples students can refer to in years to come.

Please see full program details and costs here:

• Voices
• SCREAM
• Assembly Programs - Due to the customized nature of assemblies, please reach out to us directly for cost.   Please send your inquiry to gary@courageforyouth.com - we'd love to talk!  

Program costs cover:

• All program materials, including student manuals
• Facilitator wages
• Administration costs

As a non profit organization, all costs are applied directly to program operations

• Each year, generous partners donate funding to help offset our program costs for schools.  Some schools find their funding is limited and they are unable to pay full program costs.  If this describes your schools’ situation, you can apply for scholarship dollars.
• To apply for funding, please download and fill out our scholarship funding application form here
• We strive help every school to receive programming, wherever possible.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or requests.  We would love to support your school community.

Reach out to us:

• Voices Director - chantelle@courageforyouth.com
• Scream Director - carin@courageforyouth.com
• Senior Programs Director - gary@courageforyouth.com
  (For Assemblies, Adult Programming and any other inquiries)

A great place to start is sharing about our programs with school staff and other parents.

• Download our program outlines and share with your administrative team, teacher and/or counsellor (Voices, SCREAM.)  For assemblies and other programs, please direct them to the program tabs on our webpage.  Scholarship information and application form can be found on our scholarship page.
• Spread the word to other parents and with your PAC.  We are also available to present to PACs at no extra charge.
• Please reach out to us with any questions or requests.

Generally, we run student programming within schools (public, private and homeschool organizations.)  If you have an alternative request, please contact us to discuss options: gary@courageforyouth.com.

We offer a wide variety of adult education and workshops, focusing on a variety of topics in parenting & mentoring .  To see some of our past offerings, check out the "Adult Programs" tab on this website.  We also create custom sessions for groups on a variety of topics.  Please reach out to us if you have a request or questions: gary@courageforyouth.com

We have an amazing team of volunteers, program assistants, donors and board members that all make CFY’s work possible.  For more information on how to get involved you can email us: gary@courageforyouth.com.  All donation giving options can be found here.

There is more info all around the website, and great resources on our Instagram and Facebook pages.  Please also check out our Resource Blog page for interviews, videos and other fantastic resources for parents and educators.

Please reach out to us at: gary@courageforyouth.com.  We'd love to hear from you.