"It was engaging and fun. I learned a lot of things I can use in my everyday life."

DEF Student

“I delivered the StrongStart program this past summer and it was an all-around great experience. DEF prepared me with content training, easy-to-follow curriculum, and activity materials. The students all started their school year with more confidence in themselves and the beginnings of friendships that have endured into the first semester. I highly recommend this program to other teachers and schools.”

Teacher, Krin Hunt

"This semester, we implemented the Decision Chain into Economics. Students were eager to go through the process as they considered their lives after high school and the big decisions they were facing. DEF's resources made this implementation smooth...We were able to [use the framework which] allowed students to strengthen the quality of their decisions. The resources were very applicable to this course which we like to call "Adulting 101."

Teacher, Lianna Scholz

...[During our faculty training,] Chris provided a process with a vocabulary that will allow us to be consistent as we talk with our students about any kind of challenge they face, from peer relationships, to college choice, to life paths...I am convinced that as a school, we are in a better position to speak into the lives of our students, helping them work through specific issues they may raise, but more importantly helping them develop a decision process they will use for the rest of their lives."

Dean of Faculty and Curriculum, Sumner McCallie

Based on our prior DEF experiences, I was confident using decision skills to organize our 9th grade success class would work well. That the teachers had such positive responses, especially about the value of strengthened relationships with the students, was a welcome surprise.

Teacher, Liz Henderson

“Eye-opening and motivating for me, not to try to ‘fix’ students’ problems, but provide support and framework to help ‘arm’ them with tools to decide themselves.”

Teacher, Kelly Mousel