Youth Communication (YC) is pleased to announce the official launch of our full suite of story-based social and emotional learning programs. The programs include professional development and curricula that help teachers, counselors, and other professionals connect with teens and strengthen their social and emotional learning (SEL) and literacy skills.

Our programs engage young people because they are built around powerful true stories by New York City teens in our rigorous in-house writing program. Your teens will recognize themselves in our stories, which motivates them to read and open up to each other and your staff about their challenges.

The stories are first published in our award-winning magazines—YCteen and Represent: The Voice of Youth in Foster Care. We create comprehensive lessons around the teen-written stories, to help educators show how the writers develop positive relationships, greater agency, and other key SEL competencies; readers are inspired to do the same. Our professional development workshops help staff elevate youth voice in their schools and programs. 

Since we launched our first program, #trending, in 2015, we have trained over 60 community-based organizations, including schools, SONYC sites, Beacons, and other afterschool programs throughout the city to implement our programs.

Our story-based SEL programs: 

• Middle School SEL (#trending)
• High School SEL (In Real Life)
• Positive Masculinity (Real Men 2.0)
• Girls’ Empowerment (Real As Me)
• Career Readiness (On My Way)
• Middle to High School Transition (Upgrade)

To learn more, contact Francisco Cruz at [email protected] or 212-279-0708 x 107.