My dad, a teacher of 30+ years, once told me, “The three best things about being a teacher are winter break, spring break, and summer break.” Congratulations! You made it through another year! In a profession that suffers from so much burnout, it’s so cool to...
I know cost is a major issue for schools, and that you are working within razor-thin budgets. That’s why I want to save you $1,800 in your school guidance efforts. The RISING UP Trainer Certification Course is ideal for school counselors, after-school...
Last year, my friend Pete told me, “School culture is the first thing on every admin’s list. The problem is we have so much &@#$ to deal with, we never get the time to focus on it!” Those words struck me. They made me recall all the exhausted principals I’d...
I enjoyed my time in school and it troubles me deeply to see students in pain. In my work with TEEN TRUTH & RISING UP I have met suicidal students, and I have seen so many overcome negative thinking and adversity. So all this talk about Netflix’s 13 Reason’s Why...
In the new Netflix show “13 Reasons Why,” teenager Hannah Baker dies by suicide. Before she takes her own life, she makes a series of tapes expressing the reasons she did it. In her tapes, Hannah highlights bullying, rumors that were spread about her, and ways other...
She had the plans. She had the weapons. And judging by her journal, she had the motivation to commit the biggest school shooting since Columbine. Luckily someone stepped in and notified the authorities, neutralizing the threat and avoiding our next massacre. I can’t...
“Don’t do for students what they can do for themselves.” This philosophy was taught to me by one of my mentors, the great Kathleen Bethke, a wonderful educator and veteran after-school professional. Each time I’ve applied it, I’ve seen students grow in profound ways....
I have often mentioned how visiting over 1,000 schools has helped me to develop our Student Ownership M.A.P., which is a time-tested theory that school culture can be easily built through your message, your activities, and your people. So I want to take a few moments...
The first time I attended CADA was about 10 years ago. The great Turbo Garcia asked me to come speak in a breakout session. I’d never been to CADA before, but boy did it leave an imprint on my soul. It was an amazing conference with the best educators and...
Every school has a slogan. I assume your school has one as well, but is it working? In my book, Building School Culture From the Inside Out, I highlight the importance of a school slogan and discuss how just a few simple words can drive school culture and create...
Learn Parenting & Co-Parenting Strategies that Work In a complex world filled with challenges and increasing isolation, what would it look like for you to have tools to connect with and love your teen? Join us for the Austin film premiere of TEEN TRUTH: Parents...
The New Year offers all of us a fresh beginning. We’ve made the pledges to lose weight, call so-and-so more often, finally clean the garage, or any other series of goals, but I’ve found over the years that these resolutions often fade into the busy landscape of our...
We know the speakers you invite to your campus need to connect with your students, and over the past 10 years, we’ve employed many youth speakers who inspire positive change in students lives. However, no speaker has ever done as well as Jared Scott. His TEEN TRUTH:...
It’s important for all of us to give thanks as we enter the holiday season. We have a lot to be thankful for here at TEEN TRUTH, as we’ve continued to extend our reach to students across North America. We owe this success to your support. So in an effort to...
We’ve always pushed to give students a voice, and we’re constantly seeking out new outlets for our award-winning film series. This fall we were able to work with Amazon.com to release all four TEEN TRUTH films on Amazon Digital Video. Audiences all over the world can...
Visiting over 5,000 campuses has given TEEN TRUTH a unique insight into what it takes to build school culture. Even after just a minute or two of stepping into a school, we can generally feel the culture. We know within moments how engaged the students will be during...
Over the last 10 years I have visited more than 1,000 schools, and I can usually tell if a school has a positive school culture within minutes of stepping on campus. Research has proven that a positive school culture creates safer school communities, connects teens,...
This July we worked with Frisco ISD in what has turned into a landmark event for the RISING UP: Coaching Program. RISING UP, designed specifically to help school counselors extend guidance efforts across campus, will be implemented in 18 schools across the district...
This summer I was honored to serve as an adjunct instructor for Texas State University. Working directly through the Texas School Safety Center School-Based Law Enforcement Summits, we were able to bring TEEN TRUTH’s message to over 400 officers across Texas. As I...
When I started RISING UP in 2012, I wanted to create a program that would help students work through adversity. Having worked with TEEN TRUTH in the anti-bully / school culture development field for the last 10 years I felt that this was a need for both students and...
From big cities like New York and Los Angeles to smaller towns like Abilene, TX and Bend, OR, school budgets are often managed to source every possible benefit for every single penny. We’ve come to realize this in our business as well. I can recall eating a bag...
Registration is now open for TEEN TRUTH’s RISING UP: Coaching Program – Train the Trainer event. Become a certified trainer and build a peer-to-peer program that helps extend guidance efforts across your campus. This full day workshop will teach attendees the...
On April 14, 2016, TEEN TRUTH partnered with the Harris County Department of Education Center for Safe and Secure Schools in Houston, TX to offer the first ever TEEN TRUTH: Difference Maker Summit for adults. The 3-hour workshop featured student-driven content geared...
Recently TEEN TRUTH’s CEO, JC Pohl, went live on Facebook to discuss the RISING UP: Coaching Program – Trainer Certification Course coming up on June 7th in Austin, TX. To see a replay of the webinar please click the video below....
