Character Retreats and Educator Programs
"To do well in school, a student has to be comfortable with who they are, and feel physically and emotionally safe."
- Jim Carlson, West Boyd Middle School, YF client
Seven of 10 students believed their classmates are making better decisions since the Courage Retreat
© 2010/2011 YF Student Survey
Elementary School Programs
4th or 5th Grade – Kindness Retreat
The Youth Frontiers Kindness Retreat helps build your school into a more caring community by engaging your students in a high-energy day that challenges them to act with kindness and reduce bullying in your school. 83 percent of students believe the Kindness Retreat made their school a kinder place (2010 – 2011 YF Student Survey).
Middle School / Junior High Programs
7th or 8th Grade – Courage Retreat
In an action-packed day, the Youth Frontiers Courage Retreat empowers your middle school/junior high students to accept people for who they are, resist following the crowd and act with moral courage despite their fears. In focus groups with participants, students reported a reduction in fighting and bullying in general (CAREI Report 2011).
High School Programs
9th or 10th Grade – Respect Retreat
In this inspiring day, the Youth Frontiers Respect Retreat allows your students to experience what it’s like when all students respect each other – and commit to standing up for respect in your hallways, lunchroom and classroom. Post-retreat, 57 percent of students believed that their peers were mostly resolving conflicts without fighting, insults or threats.
11th Grade – Responsibility Retreat
In this half-day, the Youth Frontiers Responsibility Retreat challenges your juniors to reflect on their leadership and commit to creating a culture of respect by becoming leaders in your school.
12th Grade – Wisdom Retreat
The Youth Frontiers Wisdom Retreat engages your seniors in a fun and meaningful experience, during which they reflect on and share memories as an entire class. Seniors gain critical perspective on their high school experiences so they can move beyond high school with positive closure and wisdom.
Educator Programs
Educators and Staff – Honor: Connection Retreat
The original Youth Frontiers Honor Retreat, now known as the Connection Retreat, will engage your staff in activities that build community and transform them into a cohesive team focused in a common direction so that your students can thrive.
Educators and Staff – Honor: Mind Retreat
Youth Frontiers and David Walsh, Ph. D. (with Mind Positive Parenting™) have joined forces to bring cutting edge brain science into community building, boosting your staff’s ability to connect – and your students’ ability to succeed.
Educators and Staff – Honor: Purpose Retreat
The Youth Frontiers Purpose Retreat will give your teachers the time and space to rediscover the motivation that originally drove them to teach. Teachers will reflect on what keeps them engaged in the adventure of teaching and recommit to this sacred profession.
Retreat and Program FAQs
1. What about my 6th graders?
Through 25 years of experience and research projects, we believe our Kindness Retreat is developmentally appropriate and most impactful for 4th or 5th graders only. Similarly, our Courage Retreat is developmentally appropriate and most impactful for 7th or 8th graders. Please call us at 952.922.0222 to talk more about your 6th-grade class.
2. Where do I find small-group leaders?
An important component of the retreat day is the opportunity for participants to work in groups with volunteer small-group leaders. These mentors facilitate small-group discussions, encourage participation, act as positive role models and help break down social barriers at the school. Schools often use older high school students, parents, corporate volunteers or respected community members to mentor their students.
3. Is lunch included with the retreat?
Lunch is not included in the price of the retreat. Schools are responsible for planning lunch. We recommend asking students to bring bag lunches that day, or providing bag lunches and water for all students.
4. How are your retreat staff vetted?
Youth Frontiers is committed to providing a safe and healthy experience for kids on our programs and we know how much schools trust our retreat staff. All of our retreat staff have been through an extensive background check in order to work with youth. They have also been through Virtus training.
5. Beyond the retreat, are there follow-up activities for teacher to do in the classroom?
Yes! Youth Frontiers is committed to helping you extend the impact of the retreat. Our school clients have access to a dynamic menu of follow-up options. Youth Frontiers is here to support your students’ social-emotional character development needs in order to create a healthy, respectful school culture in which learning thrives.
The retreat day itself is a catalyst to inspire your students to show kindness, act with courage and commit to respect. We created this curriculum as an a la carte menu because we know each school has different needs.
6. How do you work with other character development programs?
Many schools use Youth Frontiers’ programs as part of a larger school culture change model. Our retreats act as a catalyst for your school-wide, social-emotional character development initiatives. These retreats on the timeless values of kindness, courage, respect and responsibility engage the heart so that your students’ heads are engaged in the academic curriculum. Ultimately, your students’ hands are engaged in making their school a place where everyone is accepted and respected, and feels safe to learn to their full potential.
On a YF retreat, your students experience the AHA! moment of why a respectful school culture matters. When their hearts are engaged, students are empowered and learn the following SEL competencies: Empathy, Perspective-taking and Responsible decision-making.
Follow up the retreat with the YF Follow-up Curriculum: Your teachers get an a la carte menu of options to keep the momentum of the retreat going and to go deeper into issues that are affecting your students.
Other Complementary Curricula: PBIS, Olweus, Responsive Classroom, Restitution
Ongoing Leadership Development: Your student leaders experience continuous opportunities to realize their potential. Your parents and teachers receive access to resources to become better caregivers themselves and build a positive school community.
YF Responsibility Retreat for students
PACER (parent resources)
LINK crew (leadership development)
7. Where can I find out more about Youth Frontiers as an organization?
Check out our About page.
© 2011 Youth Frontiers, Inc. address: 6009 Excelsior Boulevard, Minneapolis MN 55416 telephone: 952.922.0222 or 1.888.992.0222 (toll-free)