Frequently Asked Questions
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Such an important question. Please check out Your Journey, Customized to learn more about the customization process, additional trainings we offer, and professional development.
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Yes, here it is!
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Yes! Though schools are our main partners, we love working with any and all organizations that support young adults.
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The full ConnectWellEd Journey
Definitely. We understand that for those of you who are not yet familiar with us or our work, you may want to bring us in for one Training first and then expand to the full ConnectWellEd Journey. Right now, the options are:
Partner with us solely for “Lean On Me,” with the option to transition to the full ConnectWellEd Journey.
Partner with us for the three foundational Stops of The Journey.
Continue the partnership by adding additional Stops once your community has completed the foundational Journey.
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In general, our definition of young adult is anyone between the ages of 13 and 24, give or take a few years. Currently, The ConnectWellEd Journey designed for young adults in high school, college, graduate school, and vocational training programs, or who are enrolled in some kind of cohort-based activity, such as summer camp. We do ensure that what we offer is responsive to:
1) participants’ developmental needs, interests and contexts: A training for ninth graders will not feel the same as one for sophomores in college,
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2) your community’s specific needs.
That being said, much of the foundational content will remain the same, because according to the research, friendship is friendship is friendship.
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Every ConnectWellEd training includes:
Initial community-building and purpose setting via introductions, framing (Why are we here?), and discussion of community agreements
Brief grounding practice to support everyone’s transition to this new communal space
Exploration of research on friendship using a variety of engaging pedagogical techniques such as polls, storytelling, and discussion
A choose-your-own adventure (CYOA) “application of learning” period in which students select a relevant self-directed activity from a menu of options. For example, one student who wants to make more friends might choose the activity about initiating new friendships while a classmate who is curious about how to open up more to friends they already have might opt for the courageous disclosure exercise.
Partner or small group discussion of the CYOA period
Closing circle, including discussion, sharing of learnings, and gift-giving (ConnectWellEd swag!)
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Yes! Get in touch and we’re happy to set up a Zoom chat to discuss these details.
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There are many different options, and we’re happy to discuss your school community’s specific circumstances with you. This is an incomplete list of possibilities. We hope it is a helpful jumping-off point:
Invite us to participate in orientation at the beginning of the school year!
If your student leaders come together for periodic trainings, bring us in to facilitate. Training student leaders in this skillset will benefit all of their peers.
If you have a healthy relationships program on campus, we would love to collaborate with you!
For some school communities, the most organic way to weave in ConnectWellEd is through a campus-wide social-emotional learning (SEL) program.
Do you have other ideas? Let us know!
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Yes, we do! In fact, we’ll soon be kicking off virtual Masterclasses for high school students in Philadelphia and college students in New York City. We love getting creative on Zoom to ensure that our virtual sessions are as interactive and engaging as our in-person offerings. To discuss virtual possibilities, please contact us.
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Though Rehema and Alison are each one of four siblings and love Trinidadian food (ConnectWellEd highly recommends the dish known as doubles!), Rehema also identifies as an immigrant, a visual artist, a Black cisgender woman, a mother, and the list goes on. Alison identifies as a white cisgender woman, third-generation Washingtonian, Jewish and Buddhist, a lover of dance floors, etc. If you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to drop us a line.
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Great question! We share our own personal stories and other people’s stories, and we talk about race in a factual, matter-of-fact way: Race is a social construct that there’s no biological basis for, but that doesn’t make it any less real. Race, racial identity, and racism are part and parcel of living in a racialized society: Each of has a body, each of our bodies has been racialized, and this impacts our lived experiences. This means that a critical part of friendship is knowing how to honor another person’s journey of being in a body, especially when my body and my friend’s body elicit different responses and reactions in the world.
We are passionate about providing antiracist programming. As author of So You Want to Talk About Race Ijeoma Oluo wisely explains, “anti-racism is the commitment to fighting racism anywhere you find it, including in yourself.”
AND sometimes there’s a misconception that “cultivating friendship across lines of difference” is coded language for how to make friends of different racial backgrounds. It’s not; in that session, we address the skills needed to develop and maintain friendships across many lines of difference: gender, religion, class level, and the list goes on.
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Pricing depends on several factors: how many days of training you’re requesting, how far your campus is from Washington, DC, and so forth. Please reach out for more information!
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Please get in touch!