#1 - The Priority One Form

After you have booked a retreat, you must fill out a Priority One form. This form collects information about your school and your students to ensure that our staff arrives prepared and ready for a great day.

#2 - Courage Retreat Prep Pack

The Courage Prep Pack contains all of the information that you need to know to prepare your students and staff for a successful Courage Retreat. To be fully prepared, please download the prep pack and then watch the prep pack video guide. Need help creating nametags? Read our nametag tutorial. You can download our logo here.

#3 - Recruit Small Group Leaders

An important component of the retreat day is the opportunity for participants to work in groups with volunteer small-group leaders. Schools often use older high school students, parents or respected community members to mentor their students.

#1 - Inform Parents - Video and Letter

We provide three easy ways to keep parents in the loop about your upcoming Courage Retreat: a Parent Video, a Parent Letter (available in PDF and Microsoft Word format) and a Parent Webpage. All these resources explain the core concepts of the retreat and provide questions for parents to process the experience with their kids. We suggest sending them all out to make sure that the message reaches parents.

#2 - Inform your Colleagues

The Courage Retreat Primer is a detailed explanation of the retreat and the educational theories that support it. Learn language you can bring back to the hallways and classrooms to extend the impact of the program.

#3 - Inform the Media

Let the community know about the upcoming retreat. Fill in your school name and some other key information and then send this press release, created by a professional media relations consultant, to your local media outlets. Also, feel free to use this template for parent newsletters or district mailings.

Back in the Classroom: Tips for Educators

Compiled by fellow educators, this list of tips helps you bring the themes of your retreat back to your classroom. You can extend the impact and build positive school community by engaging students in these fun activities.

Conversation Starters

Delve deeper into the lessons of the Courage Retreat with these thematically grouped conversation starters (available in PDF, PowerPoint or SMART Board formats). These are ideal for morning meeting activities. Questions are provided, with optional instructional ideas. Pick and choose which questions best suit your students' social/emotional learning needs.

Character Challenges

Teachers and school staff can sign up for a weekly email to make their school a better place. Do this as a class activity, or share during morning announcements.

Two-Day Reflection Journal

The two-day journal exercise is a chance for students to reflect on the retreat immediately after it happened. Through writing and/or small-group discussion students solidify their role in making their school a healthy learning environment. Available in PDF, Microsoft Word and SMART Board file formats.

Email from Retreat Directors

One to two weeks after your retreat, your director will send an email to your school's retreat planner. This email, directed to students, will remind them about the retreat and their commitments from the end of the day. Post this email or read it aloud to students during advisory time.

Watch the Flashback Video

Remind your students of the lessons learned on their Courage Retreat with a quick virtual visit from one of the speakers from the day. The videos highlight the different events, stories and messages from the retreat.

Posters and Awards

Put up a visual reminder of the retreat with our fun, colorful posters (your school's retreat planner will have received hard copies of these in the retreat packet, or download a PDF version of the poster). Celebrate a great kid by giving them a Courage Award.

Resources for Parents

YF now offers a variety of resources to assist parents in developing their kids' character. A five-minute video explains what the retreat day is about and a list of questions gives parents a tool to help their students process the experience. Parents can also utilize our character development resources, from books to websites.

Say "Thanks!" to your Leaders

Download this Certificate of Appreciation to give to the leaders after your Courage Retreat. A simple act that helps communicate appreciation and thanks!

30 Day Post-Retreat Student Survey

Want to measure the impact of the retreat? This 30-day Post-Retreat Survey measures shifts in cognition, attitude and perception of behavior as a result of the retreat experience. Download this PDF and have students fill out the survey. Send the completed surveys to Youth Frontiers at:

Youth Frontiers
Attn: Evaluation Coordinator
6009 Excelsior Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55416

Our Evaluation Coordinator will input the data and send a summary of results and analysis within two months of receiving the completed surveys.