About InnerState1:

Empower students to create positive change in themselves, their peers, and their community, for a target audience of students 14-19 years of age. Includes classroom training for public and private schools, weekend retreats, and summer camps.
Specific student needs that are addressed by InnerState1:
1. To be a valued member of a group that provides mutual support and caring relationships.
2. To become a socially competent individual who has the skills to cope successfully with life.
3. To believe in a promising future with real opportunities.

Preparing for the Journey: The Power in Choice – This course supposes that choice is the foundation for empowerment. The goal here is to help participants recognize and embrace the fact that they always have a choice. Understanding this concept creates an infinite source of power for change within them. We all know that good things and bad things happen in life… to every person. Teaching participants to choose their reaction to each situation helps them understand that they have the power to determine how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with their lives.

Preparing for the Journey: The Power in the Present – The premise behind this chapter is that worry cannot exist in the present. By helping them move from the past or future into the PRESENT, this unit allows participants to recognize how much of their time is spent on unproductive worry and how that time can be used for better things.

The Power in Values – The goal for participants in this Pit Stop is to choose 3-5 core values that they can truly embrace in their lives and to show how these values steer them in their decisions, choices, actions, and ultimately, their entire journey…

The Power in Approval – Participants explore approval from two angles: 1. What does someone have to do to GET their approval? 2. What do they require of themselves to get their OWN approval? The purpose here is for participants to recognize the power that approval can hold in their lives and to formulate healthy ways in which to deal with this power.

The Power in Self-Appreciation – This pit stop is intended to help participants learn multiple ways to accept and appreciate who they are. It also contains specific tools to address feelings of self-doubt.

The Power in Natural Abilities – In order for participants to live a purposeful life, it is crucial for them to discover what part they play in making the world a better place. The goal of this pit stop is for participants to identify their natural abilities and discover ways to use these abilities to contribute to the world in positive ways.

The Power in Self-Care – The goal of this unit is for participants to identify what drains them of their energy and what restores them with energy. Helping the participants find ways to truly take care of their physical, mental, emotional, and soulful selves gives them back the “fuel” they need to keep going on their individual paths and the tools to manage stress more effectively.

The Power in Anger – Anger is one of the most powerful emotions human beings have, and often, anger runs deep. The purpose of this unit is to help participants see that not only can anger keep them from moving forward, but also it can give them tremendous power for positive change in their lives.

The Power in Fear – In life, fear is often an obstacle. It can even be and excuse keeping us from moving forward. This lesson guides participants toward the idea that fear is a choice and that whether they are scared of something or not, is secondary. What they are willing to do in spite of their fear is what makes them great.

The Power in Relationships – This pit stop helps participants identify two kinds of relationships: those they choose (friends/boyfriend/girlfriends) and those that choose them (parents/siblings/teachers). It also demonstrates to participants that there is power in their connection to other people and that their relationships are a part of who they are. The key take away is that participants need to be the kind of person they want to have in their lives.

The Power in the Future – In this final pit stop on their trip, participants ask themselves, “What do I want out of my life?” and “What are my ultimate hopes and dreams?” By reflecting on what they have learned at the previous pit stops, participants begin to identify what they want from their lives. The idea is for participants to realize that they need to make choices that move them towards their goals and to help them determine if they are truly traveling on the path that is right for them.

The Power in ME – This exercise concludes Innerstate1 by asking participants to record on a map all of the key concepts that they have learned in the program. Once completed, participants will literally have “a map of the road within.” The idea here is to leave participants with a visual compilation of everything they have learned so that they may refer to it as their individual journeys continue.

About Peak Discovery:

A short and direct wake-up call (12 hours of instruction). It presents the reality of the adult world by guiding students to discover the path to a reasonable lifestyle. They’ll create a detailed budget for all the major expenses in a normal life, take a quick survey to identify their preferred job and career options, compare the earning power of those jobs to their lifestyle budget, and discover how their education and personal choices will qualify them for those jobs.

The messages are, “Your choices create your future. In that future, education, work, money, and lifestyle are all connected – and you decide.” Peak Discovery is ideal for in-school suspension, expanding curriculum for life skills and consumer math, detention programs, and situations where students can benefit from additional commitment to learning.

Explore the Real World: Intro Independent Life

Find the Costs of a Reasonable Lifestyle
Locate and Budget for a Real Apartment
Create your Budget for your Apartment, Utilities, Food, and Clothing
Costs and Responsibilities of Owning Your Car
Find and Learn About Car & Health Insurance
Create Leisure and the Fun in Your Life
Yearly Budget, Expenses, and Income Needed

Discover the Jobs and Education Needed to Support Your Life
Find the Income, Jobs, and Education Needed to Reach Your Lifestyle
Learn About Success in Your Chosen Job or Career

Goals and Decisions:
What will you do NOW?
Make CHOICES: What will you do NOW to create the life you want?

About Peak Readiness:

An in-depth life skill and motivational curriculum for young people (35 hours of instruction). Peak Readiness contains all the Activities and Modules included in Peak Discovery – and much more. The Course will guide students, step-by-step, to craft a detailed vision of their independent adult future and create a clear and specific picture of what’s possible.

They will learn a variety of life skills to build the confidence necessary to reach their goals. Their plan is uniquely theirs, they created it, and they are more committed to taking the responsibility to making it come true. Peak Readiness guides them to compare the uncertainty of their expectations with the reality of their capabilities.

Introduction: How This Works

Your Preferred Lifestyle
Intro to Independent Life (in Three Parts)
Journal and Reflection on Living on Your Own

Research and Decide Your Independent Lifestyle
Find a Real Apartment
Furnish Your Apartment
Determine Costs to Move Out
Create a Budget for Basic Expenses
Purchase a Car, Calculate a Car Loan
Real Costs of Owning and Maintaining a Car
Explore Insurance Costs for Cars and Health
Calculate Leisure and Entertainment Costs
Saving, Investing, Credit Cards, and Rainy Days
Income Needed to Achieve Your Preferred Lifestyle
Journal and Reflection on Budgets, Lifestyle, Expenses

Identify Job, Career, and Vocational Options
Profile Yourself, Identify Job and Career Categories
Explore Income, Working Conditions, Job Outlook

Align Your Lifestyle, Mission, and Earning Power

Explore Educational Options and Outcomes
Find Colleges, Explore Admissions, Compare Costs
Interview a Worker in Your Chosen Career
Journal and Reflection on Careers, Jobs, Education

Intro to the Business World
Business Self-Assessment
Write a Basic Business Plan
Interview an Entrepreneur
Journal and Reflection on the Business World

Decide Your Lifestyle Goals, Make a Commitment

Explore Giving Back to the Community
Intro to Service and Volunteering
Service Learning Self-Assessment
Interview a Volunteer or Service Worker

About Peak Workforce:

Guides young people through the job search and success on the job (20 hours of instruction). The Course stresses the importance of planning and motivation in winning a job offer. Students explore how to prepare job applications, resumes, cover letters, all the key aspects of job interviewing, and they practice interviewing with a partner. Then, they learn about success on the job, teamwork, communication, and avoiding the main reasons people lose jobs.

Your Job Search and Job Resources
Tips and Tools for a Successful Job Search
Decide What Job to Pursue
Community and Local Job Resources
Create a Job Search Planner

Explore Job Applications and Create Yours

Resumes, Cover Letters, and References
Advanced Interactive Resume Workshops

Preparing for Job Interviews
Behavioral Interviewing
Why You? Why This Job?
Additional Interviewing Resources

Interview Success and Follow Up
Top Ten Tips for a Successful Interview
Create a Thank You Letter
Interview Practice Role-Play

Learn About Paychecks and Deductions
Definitions
Taking Care of Your Money

Keeping and Succeeding in Your Job
On-the-job Etiquette
Top Ten Reasons People Lose Job — and How to Avoid Them
Attitude and Excellence
Group Discussion on Making Employment Work
Dealing With Challenges
Raises, Promotions, and Getting Ahead

Success with Coworkers and Bosses
Dealing With Customers
Teamwork, Communication, Conflicts
Leadership and Initiative

Advanced Modules
Self Confidence: Appreciate Who You Are
The Five P’s of Problem Solving
Intentional Communication
The Foundation of Good Teamwork
Getting Organized

About Peak Choices:

Helps students, ages 13 through adult:

1. Build awareness of current and past behaviors
2. Research and consider potential consequences
3. Encourage reflection on the impact to self and others
4. Create reasons to make better choices
5. Build assets that develop skill, confidence, and desire
6. Share with peers and leaders to get feedback and support

PEAK CHOICES: AWARENESS and DETERRENCE

SIX HOURS of Instruction
Any portion of this can be done individually, with a partner, and/or as a group.

Contemplate Your Behaviors
What behaviors have put you at risk?
How did it feel before and leading up to those choices?
How did it feel during those choices?
How did it feel afterwards?
Share and discuss with a partner on a specific occurrence:
What happened?
Be totally honest: in the moment, did you REALLY chose, or not?
What was your attitude going into the situation?
How did you react and feel afterwards?
What can you say now were your “reasons” for doing this? (Give examples)

Consider The Impact
Reflect on worst case outcomes for each choice above, for you, in your life
Who does this impact, beyond you?
What impact does it have on them? Be specific.
Research the external mandated consequences for your choices (see Specific Behaviors below)

What About Influences
What impact did friends have on these choices?
What risky behaviors have you seen your friends practice?
Describe what it is about you or your life that created the likelihood of this happening.
What is it about you that allows or does this?

Making New Choices
How might you recognize these choices and behaviors in the future, before they happen?
Read/hear real-life stories about choices, outcomes, and what other teens discovered
Link to stories online
Group sharing on your own and other people’s stories

PEAK CHOICES: DECISION and POWER

FIVE HOURS of Instruction
Any portion of this can be done individually, with a partner, and/or as a group.

What is a “Vector”?
Describe the Vector Story: how small shifts today create big changes later
Reflect on “vectors” in your life: small things that eventually made a big difference

Consider the Power of Decisions
Every single action you take is a decision… name three examples.
Positive decisions you’ve made in the past, and what happened
Decisions and Choice: The nature of your own power
Who or what in your life has created challenges for you?
How has that affected you? Be specific.
How might you rise above that now?
Name one small way you could shift the vector
Name one large way you could overcome that completely
Reasons: For yourself and for a higher purpose

Putting it Into Practice
Consider one choice or behavior from your “Awareness and Deterrence” Activity…
Name three actions or decisions that would be negative (show examples)
Name three actions or decisions that would be positive (show examples)
If you change this vector, where will you end up?
If you don’t change this vector, where will you end up?
Set an intention, create a goal (show examples)
How will you remind yourself of this every day?
How will you remind yourself of this in the moment, when the opportunity arises?

PEAK CHOICES: CRIME and VANDALISM

FOUR HOURS of Instruction:

Consider Choices and Consequences
Identify the criminal or illegal activities you chose
Investigate the legal and sentencing consequences (link to state Departments of Justice)
Identify other current or potential legal issues: costs, sentences, impact on your life
Who was the direct victim and how did you impact them?
Who else did this impact? How might they feel about it? What property?
How would you feel and what would you do it this happened to you?

Learn About What Others Have Been Through
Group sharing and discussion on discoveries
Hear or read stories of incarceration or visit a jail
Reflect on external situations, pressures, or individuals that put you at risk
Reflect on internal attitudes, beliefs, or decisions that put you at risk
Set intention on how to manage future behavior

PEAK CHOICES: DRUG and ALCOHOL

SIX HOURS of Instruction
This Course is intended to be reflective on a young person’s choices or potential choices about substance abuse. It is not intended as a program of drug or alcohol rehabilitation. It should not be used in place of treatment or necessary interventions.

Consider Choices and Consequences
Take a survey of your behaviors and why you made those choices:
Chose three examples and reflect on why
Impact on your health
Impact on your legal status and freedom
Impact on your finances
Impact on your chances for jobs, education, and opportunities
Impact on your self respect
Read or hear others’ stories of the nature of addiction and choices
Describe and share your stories of friends, family, or others in your life
Link to online stories

How to Change This Vector
Reaching out…
What other resources or assistance are available (if you use them or not)?
How have other people sought help successfully?

Made a decision…
Refer to Decisions above, who could you reach out to?
What decisions could you make now to change your Vector?
Make the decision now to make that one small change

Honesty and sharing…
If you needed confidential help with this, where would you go?
What are you willing to change about you to improve this situation?

Willingness…
Knowing where this is leading you, are you willing to shift the Vector?
How could get willing or become more willing?
Asking for help…
Ask the person or whoever for help
Good – this is progress, you have made a Decision, changed a Vector

Maintaining…
Use the Decision and Power: what about next time?
Remember yourself in a past situation, now envision the future in detail
Record how you chose otherwise, how it felt, and decide to continue that

Staying Focused…
How will you take of yourself?
Finding and using local recovery and support resources

Optional Activities
• Counseling
• Community Service
• Jail Visits / Jail Jolt
• Incarceration, Probation, Detention, Etc.

About Peak Financial:

A money management and financial literacy course that covers many aspects of consumer math (15 hours of instruction). Teens explore banking, checks, checking accounts, and living within their means. The Course then covers loans, interest, and credit. Peak Financial builds on the core principles and lessons of PEAK READINESS, and also introduces the fundamentals of net worth, cash flow management, and distinguishing between needs and wants

Introduction: How This Works
Financial Pre-Survey
What is Net Worth?

Live Within Your Means
Needs vs. Wants: Living Within Your Means
Decide Spending Consciously: Needs, Wants, and Saving

Checks, Banking and Cash Flow
Understanding and Using Personal Checks
Understanding and Using Your Checking Account
Understanding and Using Bank Statements
Checking Account Exercises

Interest, Credit and Loans
Discover Interest Basics
Intro to Credit and Types of Credit
Credit Reports and Credit Reporting Agencies
Explore Various Loan and Credit Options
Underwriting and What It Means to You