1

Upon referral from a colleague of mine at the Harlem Children’s Zone, I first spoke to Michael Jascz, founder and executive director of The Relationship Foundation, out of a growing interest in the new field of relationship education and Michael’s unique place in it. A visionary, Michael created The Relationship Foundation from a spirited drive to teach children what he wished he had learned growing up: how to have healthy relationships with the people he cared about. What I was to learn over a two month period of research, writing, and interviewing professionals and politicians in the field was that the work of the foundation was running parallel to a growing trend in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL, in addition to and for the advancement of academic learning, has over the last decade become increasingly important topic of research among child developmental psychologists, established educators, and educational technologists. This academic innovation has morphed into public discussions by neuroscience researchers, members of elite academic circles, international organizations, national legislators, and a new generation of teachers conducting their own socio-emotional programs, all of which conclude that SEL is needed in the school system. Seemingly, one small organization trying to make a difference in the lives of students in urban communities, The Relationship Foundation is actually a part of a broad and growing movement. Together with rising Hamilton College senior, Risa Nagel, a gifted intern at The Relationship Foundation who I mentored for eight weeks, we were able to tag team the issues - researching, developing, and preparing an evaluation of the state of relationship education from a multigenerational perspective. Along with pockets of research from other dedicated interns and building on Risa’s ability to synthesize, shape and articulate arguments in her own signature style, I was able to see a whole movement come into focus through the work of one small organization. We were both surprised to discover the originality of the work at The Relationship Foundation, especially in the context of a growing movement: nationally, with a recent history of legislation supporting relationship education in the US, and internationally, with different tracks of SEL under experimentation by organizations in the UK, Sweden, Australia, Singapore, and China. What is more, in America, the findings from this still nascent field may affect public policy and become a pillar of Common Core education. In fact while we were drafting this paper, new legislation was passed through the US Senate, authorizing federal funds for the in-school teaching of healthy relationship education. While there are many small start ups in relationship education around the country, we found that the carefully crafted lesson plans and activities of The Relationship Foundation lay the groundwork for a full relationship education curriculum that appeals to teachers, students, and parents. What remains to be seen is how such a curriculum would fit into our current classroom schedules. Perhaps in physed, after school programming or, increasingly likely, by digital means - the need for SEL and relationship education is so ubiquitous that digital application is a resourceful way to reach 21st century audiences, and scale relationship education to meet the expanding interest in the field. What follows is not a perfect document but a work in progress, a slightly out of focus snapshot of where this growing movement is at the moment seen from the perspective of The Relationship Foundation’s work in NYC. --Susan Stratton, Consultant and Volunteer

2

The Relationship Foundation, TRF: TODAY AND TOMORROW The Relationship Foundation’s work in early intervention relationship education TRF TODAY Our Beginnings Our Mission Our Brand of 21st Century Relationship Education Our Outcomes

● Changes the Culture of the Classroom ● Encourages Respect Among Classmates ● Improves Student-Teacher Relationships ● Improves Student Relationships with Parents ● Heightens Student Engagement ● Bolsters Academic Improvement ● Relieves Student Stress ● Prevents Harmful Behavior ● Meets CDC Criteria for Principles of Prevention

TRF TOMORROW A Defining Moment in Relationship Education

● New Attitudes to Existing Social Problems ● New Applications for Early Intervention ● New Research in SEL, Socio-Emotional Learning ● New Legislation for Relationship Education ● New Push for Relationship Education and SEL as Common Core Curriculum ● New International Thought Partners join the Relationship Education and SEL

Movement

Our Innovative Approach to a Relationship Education Media

Our Proposed Coalition for Relationship Education: RelatED

3

TRF TODAY The Relationship Foundation is an educational initiative that combines the tools of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Collaborative Communication to teach students not only what healthy relationships are, and why it is important to have them, but most importantly, how to cultivate healthy, safe, and rewarding relationships that last. Our Beginnings Founded by Executive Director, Michael Jascz, The Relationship Foundation emerged from fourteen years of Jascz’s firsthand experience as a personal relationship coach for adults, families, and children. Seeing the difficulties couples had in communicating with each other, as well as the confusion in what they needed from their relationships, Jascz created an educational organization to reconfigure his work for the classroom capitalizing specifically on the high school years, a critical time in young adults’ social development. For that reason, in 2008 The Relationship Foundation was established. Drawing from Jascz’s experiences and his tried and true methodology, the work of the foundation now blends the teachings of collaborative communication, empathic listening, and critical thinking, shining light on the need for increased interpersonal communication and socio-emotional learning. “We spend at least 12 years in school preparing for a career. How much time do we spend preparing for a relationship? Any relationship?” Our Mission  Across a variety of urban school cultures, predominantly in NYC’s five boroughs but remarkably in public, private, charter, faith based, and home-schooling environments, we have found that students as well as teachers and their administrators are becoming aware of the need for relationship education: in a mid-semester evaluation of our relationship program, a student attending the High School for Health Professions and Human Services, a career-driven public high school in the East Village of Manhattan, commented that “before this course there were things about relationships that I didn’t fully understand until now,” like “learning how to use my emotions in a healthy way” and “communicating with others with understanding.” One student from City-As-School, an alternative, experiential high school in the West Village, resolved that The Relationship Foundation teaches a “positive and necessary course, and [it] opens a door for many productive conversations kids should have.” These students are not unique cases; many children, adolescents, and even adults do not understand basic relationship skills. After Jascz led a workshop at Renaissance Charter High School in Jackson Heights, Queens, a teacher observed, “it is often taken for granted that talents such as listening, speaking, expression, empathy, and caring are readily employed by every person.” As this teacher alluded, getting good grades in geometry, playing Beethoven’s 7th symphony, or winning a soccer match are not all that must be taught: the same instruction and practice often dedicated to curricular accomplishments is also necessary in developing relationship skills.

4

Our Method  The Relationship Foundation’s fundamental practices are these: 1) collaborative communication, a method of communicating that leads to productive, nonviolent conflict resolution where all parties clearly express their needs; 2) empathy, an aptitude for listening to others, sharing in their emotional experiences, and acting in a compassionate way; 3) critical thinking, the ability to approach situations and relationships from multiple perspectives that also cultivates a keen eye in analyzing academic matters; 4) self-awareness, the articulation and understanding of one’s social and emotional needs; 5) acceptance, the realization that everything everyone does is an attempt to meet a need and the disintegration of personal judgments, like should and shouldn’t, and good and evil. Jascz synthesized his real world school based teachings into a rubric we now call Healthy Relationships 101, the cornerstone of The Relationship Foundation. Healthy Relationships 101 uses our fivefold definition of social and emotional learning to tackle issues that are relevant to high school students; it centers on issues students care about and face everyday. In Healthy Relationships 101, we cover the signs of abusive relationships, normalization of domestic violence, siege of media images affecting adolescents’ self-esteem and body image, limitations of stringent gender roles, usefulness of empathic bullying prevention, and depreciation of interpersonal communication in the face of excessive technology use. From our work in varied school cultures, by way of the classroom, after school activities, professional development, and staff training programs, we have found that learning about relationships excites students, and addressing relevant social issues serves to amplify their earnest interest. A student from Palmer Trinity High School, a private episcopal high school in Miami, Florida, “found the element of corrupted beauty very powerful: how we sometimes hate ourselves over a picture in a tabloid that might not even be real,” after we led an in-class exercise on body image, self-esteem, and media overload. In this case, as in many cases, the transformation can be immediate. Further, when relationships and relevant social issues are taught in tandem with our interactive learning style, students’ engagement increases and lessons stick. Healthy Relationships 101 utilizes dynamic classroom activities, such as role-play, full class discussions, student journals for self-reflection, contemporary media analysis of videos and articles, and creative projects as an outlet for additional self-expression and individuality. This style of teaching creates an environment in which students “have a voice and in which their concerns, feelings, and needs are valued and addressed,” as Suzanne Arnold, the Coordinator of Student Support and Healthy Education at Renaissance Charter High School, phrased it. Heavy reliance on student involvement, participation, and feedback, and our straightforward, approachable explanation of social and emotional learning is reflected in our library of assets that we have collected over the past seven years. Our assemblage of student, teacher, and administrative evaluations, art work, projects, lesson plans, and the like attest to the need for relationship education and the potential benefits it can bring to students, teachers, the classroom environment, and parents at home.

5

Our qualitative and observational data has been supported by a recent flashpoint in education research. Synthesizing 213 studies in social and emotional learning, the Society for Research in Child Development conducted a meta-analysis of School Based Universal Interventions on Students’ Social and Emotional Learning in 2011 . Compatible with our observational and

1

qualitative findings, the meta-analysis from the 2011 study concluded that: “SEL programs yielded significant positive effects on targeted social-emotional competencies and attitudes about self, others, and school. They also enhanced students’ behavioral adjustment in the form of increased pro-social behavior” and, most notably, “improved academic performance on achievement tests and grades.” Moreover, the effects “remained statistically significant for a minimum of six months after the intervention,” showing the potential for long-term change in the minds and behaviors of students.   Our Brand of 21st Century Relationship Education  Traditionally, relationship education brings to mind a pre-emptive marriage counseling of sorts, but relationship education should not solely be relegated to a decades old notion of romantic relationships. Today, humans’ complex social networks are known to all be of importance. The organized learning of relationship education encompasses a variety of relationships with friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, etc. in addition to those with significant others. More well known outside of research circles is character education. Frequently confused with SEL, character education includes relationship builders, such as empathy, listening, and communication. Yet, The Relationship Foundations sees some fundamental differences with SEL and character education. Firstly, the commonly stated purpose of character education is promoting proper citizenry, via ‘responsible’ and ‘ethical’ decision-making, all the makings of a ‘good’ student. The Relationship Foundation interprets ‘good’, ‘responsible’, and ‘ethical’ as subjective moral judgments. When an authority presents these labels as goals to aspire to, students receive messages that are incompatible with effective social and emotional learning: you must try to be ‘good’ because innately you are ‘bad’; and therefore, authority figures are separate from students in their ‘goodness’. Promoting the idea of a ‘good’ student can actually stunt relationship building in the classroom, change in the classroom culture, and students from genuine participation and transformation. Therefore, The Relationship Foundation focuses on individual, self-directed growth first. Over the last decade, a lot of early work has been done in SEL and character education; however, there is yet to be a wholly accepted SEL curriculum put in motion that works for 21st century classrooms. Accordingly, The Relationship Foundation’s work to date pursues research and development of a relationship education curriculum, lesson plans, and activities, complete with professional development materials.

1 Society for Research and Child Development was conducted by a handful of research specialists and acclaimed psychology professors, Joseph Durlak, a Professor of Clinical Psychology at Loyola University Chicago, and Roger Weissberg, on the CASEL Board of Directors and Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Education at University of Illinois in Chicago.

6

Starting in city centers, Healthy Relationships 101 has been built largely on the needs of existing urban classrooms. Yet, by working in a diversity of communities, our program has proven VIABLE in all girls schools, faith-based institutions, large multicultural high schools, schools for the gifted and talented, schools in economically disadvantaged areas and in affluent neighborhoods. Using what we have learned across a variety of urban communities, Healthy Relationships 101 has developed into a remarkably adaptable program, one which will translate well into suburban, rural, and small town classrooms around America. Our Outcomes  Heavy reliance on student and teacher involvement, participation, and feedback, and our straightforward, approachable explanation of social and emotional learning is reflected in our interactive learning style and the library of assets we have collected over the past seven years. In analyzing our collection of qualitative data, the need for relationship education, specifically carried out by the methodology of Healthy Relationships 101, is more than clear. Following are the enumerated changes The Relationship Foundation, along with students, teachers, and parents have commonly observed in the classroom environment.  

● Changes the Culture of the Classroom  Though Healthy Relationship 101 is focused on students finding support in meaningful personal relationships, perhaps the program’s most tangible impact may be felt in the transformation of classroom culture. By using school time to further relationship education, the classroom becomes a nexus for healthy relationships. The classroom is no longer just an instructional instrument; it evolves into a supportive network of fulfilling peer-to-peer and peer-to-teacher relationships that changes the culture of the classroom.

● Encourages Respect Among Classmates  The interactive qualities of Healthy Relationships 101 steer students to practice relationship skills with their peers, thereby enhancing existing classroom relationships and creating new ones. A student from the High School for Health Professions and Human Services commented that Healthy Relationships 101 makes “this place in the classroom…like an open space to speak about relationships” so that “classmates are able to share their ideas.” A New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies teacher, Katie Jungers, described the amicable classroom environment of those learning Healthy Relationships 101 as a place where “individuals can explore themselves as well as learn about their peers, so they are able to understand one another on a level that prepares them for healthy and worthwhile relations.” Moreover, since this course is geared toward real life application, most students find it easy to link lessons to their lives, and eagerly apply their skills to personal relationships, both inside and outside of the classroom.

7

● Improves Student-Teacher Relationships  As students begin to understand each other more, teachers also become aware of the social and emotional workings of their students, personally and academically. This presents an opportunity for teachers to become a better source of support for their students. Healthy student-teacher relationships contribute to “students’ immediate and long-term behavior change,” as well as fostering students’ “commitment and bonding to school,” according to a meta-analysis by the Society for Research in Child Development. In classrooms where Healthy Relationships 101 was introduced, teachers fully experienced an improvement in student-teacher relationships. Ruqayyah Williams, from the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy Charter School, said she was surprised by “how quickly [her] interactions with students took on a different tenor,” referencing the change that comes in student-teacher dynamics when teachers and students recognize and understand each other as people with needs and feelings.  Strengthening student-teacher relationships can act as a catalyst for shifting the balance in student-teacher interactions - a shift that, according to new research, is critical in improving the potency of education and developing student leaders. By having teachers build students’ self-expression and self-esteem, Healthy Relationships 101 is a stepping-stone for students to embrace a more active and synergetic role in their education. Yvette Jackson, Ed. D. and CEO of the National Urban Alliance, internationally recognized for her work in assessing the learning potential of disenfranchised urban students and a collaborator and advisor to TRF, writes in her acclaimed books, The Pedagogy of Confidence and Aim High, Achieve More, that amplifying and incorporating the student voice changes the traditional dynamics of the student-teacher relationship to one of collaboration and mutual appreciation.

● Improves Student Relationships with Parents  In a journal entry, a student describes a how he neutralized a fight with his mother by referring to a Healthy Relationships 101 worksheet. He applied the vocabulary he learned in class to articulate his needs to his mother, and in a true moment of empathy, saw his mother’s side of the argument: “I got into an argument with my mother last night and for once, used my feelings list in my own arguments. I looked to see my feelings: aggravated, stressed out, hurting, conflicted, detached, and mortified. Yeah I felt this but why? Did I have a reason to be? What did my mom feel? Fearful, apathetic, heartbroken. I reviewed her argument and understood.” Happy to have successfully resolved a conflict with his parent, the entry ends with a definitive resolution to use needs and feelings, what we also refer to as collaborative communication, again: “I decided to put this into use and keep it.”

● Heightens Student Engagement The Foundation’s interactive method of relationship education teaches from the students’ point of view; we cover relevant issues that easily draw students’ attention, and harness that attentiveness to drive home concrete, fundamental lessons. Rebecca M.K. Centeno, Spanish teacher at John Adams High School, a public high school in Ozone Park, Queens, noted that “the discussions were heated” – students were passionate about what they were learning, and

8

participated accordingly – but also that the classroom environment was still productive and inclusive, where “everyone had a voice,” all lending to the student appeal of Healthy Relationships 101. Another teacher we worked with, Ruqayyah Williams of the Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy Charter School, was also “very pleased with the outcome of the program and the level of participation from the students.” From reading students’ journal entries it is apparent that students are heavily engaging with the material they learn in class. In particular, one student elaborates on the profound impact this work has had on her ability to maintain healthy relationships and empathize with others: “Everything I’ve learned has brought me closer connections to everyone I hold close. I’m watching people more, wondering what they’re thinking and feeling. I’ve come out better because of this class.” Students are taking what they learn in the classroom into the deepest corners of their personal lives. Healthy Relationships 101 presents a chance for uniquely far-reaching engagement that has the potential to draw students towards a more meaningful outlook on learning.

● Bolsters Academic Improvement Unsurprisingly, as student engagement increases so does academic improvement – “high levels of engagement are associated with high attendance and test scores,” according to a study conducted by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education . The Society for Research in

2

Child Development also found that “SEL programs are associated with positive results such as improved attitudes about self and others, increased prosocial behavior, lower levels of problem behaviors and emotional distress and improved academic performance.” The qualitative data we have collected reinforces these findings, and offers a possible reason why Healthy Relationships 101 can aid students’ academic achievement. In a letter of recommendation for The Relationship Foundation, Rebecca M.K. Centeno from John Adams High School concludes that Healthy Relationships 101 teaches students to “meet their social and emotional needs so they can focus on learning.” Ms. Centeno described a few student responses that truly amazed her: “young women and men began making such comments as one student Sylvain, ‘If we start making these changes, could we change how the world relates?’ Another student Farzana confided, ‘Miss, without your class, I would’ve never been able to graduate. My Dad left my three sisters, my mom and I. I would just stay home and cry but your class made me understand him and not to judge him.” In helping students to meet their emotional needs, Healthy Relationships 101 can give students an opportunity to better concentrate on school.     

2 The study entitled, “Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement” was published in the Journal of School Health in 2004 by Adena M. Klem and James P. Connell, research managers at the Institute for Research and Reform in Education at the time.  

9

 ● Relieves Student Stress

Twenty-first century high school students have to balance college and job applications, extracurricular activities, social pressures, family, friends, and a regular load of schoolwork. Students are becoming familiar with stress at an earlier age than ever before, and as the stress of adulthood rarely absolves completely, adolescents should learn how to handle stress in healthy ways. Being able to clearly articulate unfulfilled needs and feelings, potential causes for stress, is a good first step. In fact, the Assistant Principal of City-As-School, Isabella Mackie, saw the primary application for Healthy Relationships 101 is as a reduction in students’ stress levels: “I have seen the results firsthand: student who are under high stress find productive ways to handle life’s challenges.” While describing The Relationship Foundation, Jim Sporleder, Principal of Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, Washington, said that our method “is a non-judgmental approach which established terminology that helps de-escalate students that are dealing with high stress.”  

● Prevents Harmful Behavior Through our sampling of classrooms, we have seen how harmful behavior can be prevented through greater social and emotional awareness. In difficult situations, students learn to rethink their knee-jerk, habitual actions in favor of collaborative communication and conflict-resolving practices. Through our evaluation process of pre and post assessment, we observed a transformation in one student from the Harlem Village Academy. When given a hypothetical scenario in which a close friend embarrassed the student in front of peers, the student responded that he would “give a comeback or hit them,” then he would “feel fine.” After participating for four weeks in Healthy Relationships 101, the same student was given the same scenario and asked the same question. His answer, however, was far from the same: “I [would] feel ashamed and anguished towards having that person in my life at the time”; then in responding to the situation, “I [would] stop myself before I’d react. Then I’d think about my needs and feelings list to evaluate the situation peacefully.”  

● Meets CDC Criteria for Principles of Prevention The observed impact of Healthy Relationships 101 is reinforced by the Center for Disease Control Principles of Prevention: Healthy Relationships 101 meets every criterion for an effective prevention program.

3

Healthy Relationships 101 has 1) comprehensive services, addressing social, emotional, and academic learning through a

variety of activities,

3 Established in 2005, as per Applying the Principles of Prevention: What Do Prevention Practitioners Need to Know About What Works? Prepared by Maury Nation, Dana Keener, Abraham Wandersman, and David Dubois, for the Center for Disease Control, and published in the official journal of the American Psychological Association, American Psychologist.

10

2) practiced and varied teaching methods, incorporating hands on experience to develop

relationship skills, 3) follow up, in the form of student and teacher evaluations, 4) theory, backing its development, namely SEL and Nonviolent Communication, 5) focus on positive relationships between peers, teachers, and parents, 6) appropriate timing by reaching students at a critical period in their psychological

development, 7) socio-cultural relevance shown by recent legislation and international interest in SEL, 8) outcome evaluation in the form of integrated student-input as a the force behind the

program’s development, and 9) a well trained staff, instructed by Michael Jascz, a 14 year veteran as a relationship coach

and founder of The Relationship Foundation.

11

TRF TOMORROW Observations catalogued from our Healthy Relationships 101 program, along with student, teacher, and parent feedback, contend that socio-emotional learning and relationship education may be an innovative development in comprehensive education. Our library of assets collected across a variety of school communities attests to the fact that with early intervention relationship education, the culture of the classroom changes to one of friendship, safety, and respect; student relationships with peers, teachers, and parents improve; and when students address their emotional needs, they can concentrate better on schoolwork. Particularly, we have seen that our brand of relationship education, Healthy Relationships 101, is one that hits all the CDC benchmarks for an effective program of prevention and works successfully within New York City, the nation’s largest school district, in a variety of school cultures. A Defining Moment in Relationship Education With growing interest and recent breakthroughs in neuroscience and psychology, relationship education and social and emotional learning have become topical buzzwords. They are the newest wave in comprehensive child development. With good reason: compounded by current events, public sentiment, federal approval, and international exploration, relationship education aimed at building social and emotional competency has reached new heights of recognition and support. It is a critical juncture for teaching socio-emotional learning and relationship education. Riding the global attention in this area, The Relationship Foundation is now prepared to take the next step to leverage existing work to research and develop a wide variety of effective materials for the semester long in-classroom and after school teachings of relationship education for high school students in urban communities across the country.

● New Attitudes to Existing Social Problems America regularly struggles with its painful past (school shootings, community violence, and sexual assault); however, the recent explosion of current events has made the recognition of the need for widespread relationship education more urgent. Events in Charleston, the University of Cincinnati, Staten Island in the outer boroughs of New York City, Baltimore, Ferguson, though not unique as disturbing displays of deep-rooted racial bias, have revitalized national attention to alarming issues that often slip under the radar. Public attitudes are changing towards gender norms, ramifications of being bullied, the media’s glorification of violence, and mental illness, which have prompted much needed community discussion at the local, state, regional and federal level. There is a growing realization that these issues have a particular penetrating effect on adolescents – suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth between ages of 10 and 24

4

- and yet mental illness, gender, bullying, and violence are tremendously under discussed, especially in educational settings, where teenagers congregate daily and teachers can mediate discussions productively.

4 Statistic from the Center for Disease Control, Suicide Prevention.  

12

● New Applications for Early Intervention The Relationship Foundation sees high school as a critical period in early intervention and prevention: psychologically, students are in the midst of development, still able to change their behaviors with relative ease, and strategically, students will soon be in college and the workplace, where parental oversight and teacher interference is low, and drug and alcohol use, social pressures, and sexual assault are high. Before embarking to college and the workplace, students should be prepared. Knowing tools and strategies for cultivating and maintaining healthy, safe relationships can serve to help. Sexual assault on college campuses is another severe and relevant problem in need of effective preventative measures. Last year, the media attention of a Columbia University student protesting her university’s verdict that her rapist was not guilty, publically illuminated sexual assault as an all too often problem at college. Multiple studies and politicians have addressed this topic, citing 1 in 5 women in college have been a victim of rape or attempted rape, and the majority of cases have been perpetrated by a past or current sexual partner, someone with whom women have had a prior relationship. Our new application of early intervention in The Relationship Foundation’s Safe Relationships 101 is underway to specifically address the problem of sexual assault on college campuses and help students avoid abusive relationships.

● New Research in Social and Emotional Learning While we were piloting Healthy Relationships 101, the research arm of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a leading organization of educational SEL, simultaneously led a district wide evaluation. Their research supports our findings that “developing students’ social and emotional competence is essential for academic and life success.” For their research, CASEL has collected data from school districts in Anchorage, Austin, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, Oakland, Sacramento, and Washoe County, Nevada, showing the benefits of SEL are tangible and geographically boundless. In SEL research, CASEL is the tip of the iceberg. The benefits of SEL in the classroom have been a burgeoning topic of interest for educational researchers and academic professionals. The Society for Research on Child Development published a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal SEL programs involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students. The findings shine a light on the significantly “improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance” of students participating in SEL programs. Additional studies cited in the meta-analysis include Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What does the Research Say? , The Prosocial Classroom: Teacher Social and

5

5 A popular paperback written by three psychology professors from schools across the country, and a researcher in educational productivity with ties to the USDOE. Published in 2004.

13

Emotional Competence in Relation to Student and Classroom Outcomes , and Children’s Needs 6

III: Development, Prevention, and Intervention . 7

● New Legislation for Relationship Education

In recent years, the United States House of Representatives and Senate have seen multiple bills promoting relationship education as a preventative force against domestic abuse, bullying, school violence, and poor academic performance. What is more, different congresspeople present the issue every time, showing a diverse and unanimous need for relationship education: Representative Susan Davis of San Diego, California introduced the Supporting Social and Emotional Learning Act in January of this year; Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio presented Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Act of 2015 in February, building off two previously presented versions of this bill in 2011 and 2013; and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut initiated the Jesse Lewis Empowering Educators Act, named after a victim of the Sandy Hook school shooting, in April. Though these bills have fallen short, the push to permit federal funding to support the teaching of relationship education by politicians in the system has recently proved to be successful. An amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 (ECAA), entitled Teach Safe Relationships Act was passed through the Senate on July 16. Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Claire McCaskill of Missouri proposed this provision in February 2015. The inspiration for this bill came after Senator Kaine met with a group of UVA’s student advocates for survivors of rape and sexual assault. Senator Kaine was “struck by how many of them expressed concern over the lack of high school education on consent and healthy relationships.” McCaskill added that “one of the best ways to prevent sexual violence among adults is to educate them about healthy relationships as young people.” The US Senate’s recent attention and support of relationship education further assists the dissemination of Healthy Relationships 101 and empowers The Relationship Foundation as a major player in securing an exciting, potential future of federally mandated and funded relationship education.

● New Push for SEL and Relationship Education as Common Core Curriculum The recent passing of The Teach Safe Relationships Act may be just the beginning for national support of relationship education. CASEL, as previously elaborated, is at the forefront of research and policy regarding SEL. As policy influencers, CASEL’s main goal is to shepherd SEL into the principles of Common Core, standardizing SEL practices nationwide, just as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) once had to undergo. CASEL’s research, and private funding, prepares them to influence government policy in a forceful way that could make the work of The Relationship Foundation federally mandated and of national interest.

6 An article written by two researchers at Pennsylvania State University in 2009 that highlights the importance of teachers’ SEL. 7 Two psychology professors at the University of Delaware completed and published this book in 2006 with the help of the National Association of School Psychologists.

14

● New International Thought Partners join the SEL and Relationship

Education Movement Though the United States is pioneering the movement of relationship education, it is not the only country that has set their sights on universal SEL for students. In recent years, SEL has become an international movement; from the UK to China, organizations, coming from all different angles, have realized the importance of relationship education for students. Prioritizing happiness as a mechanism for greater learning, Sweden has standardized programs addressing mental health and emotional management. Since 2008, Australia also has a nationwide SEL program, which is a part of their official curriculum. As of 2014, Singapore’s Ministry of Education mandated SEL in all schools. The United Kingdom has an SEL curriculum in the works under their Primary National Strategy. Similarly, China has multiple projects working to implement an SEL curriculum, under the guidance of UNICEF and their Ministry of Education. Our Innovative Approach to Relationship Education Media What makes scaffolding Healthy Relationships 101 possible is not only the long reach of our potential educational collaborators with wide distribution into schools across a variety of platforms, but that cost effective technology to scale our programs is now with us. With our content driven team, we look forward to researching and developing a full semester curricula of Healthy Relationships 101 programs, and with the help of educational technologists and innovators, create a cross media application of our work, leveraging new and existing content and distribution formats to form a first ever relationship education franchise. The Relationship Foundation will be there with materials to meet the need for the market in relationship education as it grows and comes into its own. As a team we hope to take experiential relationship education beyond the classroom, to online users with video and interactive formats, for those who wish to refine their relationship skills through individual and group practice, and for those who wish to begin learning in a more user friendly, convenient, and private way. So, when The Relationship Foundation cannot reach people personally, we can still provide them with what worked for us, so everyone eager to learn relationship skills can do so. The nature of Healthy Relationships 101 is to cater to high school audiences with an interactive learning application that can meet them where they are - in the classroom, after school, at home, and on the go - in order to maximize social impact for 21st century digital natives. Digital application will also allow The Relationship Foundation, with the assistance of recognized partners in this field, to extend its vision beyond the four walls of the classroom, allowing us to share our work with other domestic and international socio-emotional educators and leaders, and even extend our reach to non English speakers here in the United States.

15

Our Proposed Coalition for Relationship Education: RelatED We are attempting to build a consortium around relationship education, called RelatED, a sprouting coalition between The Relationship Foundation, the National Urban Alliance, and potential partners in distribution and subject matter specific areas. This will scaffold the best practices of Healthy Relationships 101 and promote the work of the foundation’s pilot program for high school students, across urban hubs of America in a variety of classroom cultures. In this way, The Relationship Foundation will be able to accomplish what one organization alone cannot. Combining the insight of The Relationship Foundation, with the best practices, solid experience, and knowledge of the National Urban Alliance, RelatED can elevate The Relationship Foundation’s social and emotional competency through widespread distribution, expert development, and digital application of the Healthy Relationships 101 program to students everywhere. The advent of the acceptance of relationship education marks a new era for the American classroom. For some, the underlying principles of The Relationship Foundation may seem too radical or even extraneous. However, with the coalescing attitudes, attention, and increased research being done on social and emotional learning and relationship education, The Relationship Foundation is helping to pave the way for a forward thinking, more inclusive approach to everyday learning. After all, as MIT urban theorist and architect, William Mitchell reminds us: “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”  The concrete benefits we have found for students, teachers, and parents in the piloting of our program and as part of a budding consortium, now positions Healthy Relationships 101 as a pragmatic, tangible initiative. Beyond the benchmarks of heightened student engagement, academic improvement, respect among classmates, and improved student-teacher and student-parent relationships, it is also important to remember that the work we do in The Relationship Foundation makes a true and immediate impact on people’s lives. After a two month workshop at the Harlem Children’s Zone, the preeminent model for urban education and an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty, teacher Ruqayyah Williams commented that “this program has the potential to be life altering” - and for students with little to no economic privilege, life altering can mean a world of possibilities. In fact, Ms. Williams believed this potential to be founded through her own transformation: “This program [Healthy Relationships 101]... has definitely changed my life.”