Case Study
LaunchSkills
Practical, hands-on life-readiness curriculum for rural youth.
Project Overview
Goals
Provide teachers and other youth service providers with accessible resources needed to teach life readiness skills.
Results
Over the course of four years, built an interactive curriculum with use in 20 states.
Ready to Launch.
High school students lack the practical life skills to thrive in the 21st century. LaunchSkills offers accessible curriculum to fill the gap. Together with the Strengthening the Heartland team, I worked to craft an engaging life-readiness curriculum that appeals to both youth and educators.
Supporting Rural Youth
To lead successful lives, young adults need a range of essential skills, such as how to use a credit card or handle conflict with a roommate. Amid the abundance of information on the internet, there is a major gap in the skill sets of today’s teens. High school students lack the practical life skills to thrive in the 21st century.
LaunchSkills offers accessible curriculum to fill the gap. Together with the Strengthening the Heartland team, I worked to craft an engaging life-readiness curriculum that appeals to both youth and educators.
Objectives
- Develop a life readiness curriculum in the areas of career, financial literacy, healthy relationships, and health & wellness.
- Give high value tools that are adaptable and accessible.
- Educate and equip rather than preach, empowering students to be decision makers.
- Capture teen audience’s attention, in an environment where classroom engagement is down.
Expanding the Brand
At its heart, the brand needed to inspire and motivate youth.
With the new project, I needed to create a brand that would work within the existing Strengthening the Heartland brand. The new logo would need to be distinct but live within the same visual world.
Attributes:
- Bold
- Motivated
- Supportive
- Inspiring
Key Audiences:
- Teachers
- Ag Educators
- School Counselors
- 4-H Professionals
Building the Curriculum.
The LaunchSkills lesson book is a life readiness curriculum filled with grab and go lessons on career exploration, academic success, holistic wellness, and financial literacy. With a collaborative team of educators and graduate assistants, we crafted a 400+ page lesson book.
How to Webinar Series
These hands-on, actionable trainings focused on important topics facing our youth. These much needed trainings gained nation wide attendance.
Bringing the Experience to You.
With classrooms moving to virtual formats, we had to explore an unique challenge: how do you bring the career camp experience to students remotely? We developed two programs for rural high schools. The Virtual Career Camp was a self paced online event highlight careers in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. Careers in a Box was created to bring the experience directly to the school. We outfitted each interactive kit with materials that highlighted careers in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences.
Project Impact.
A strong brand presence built the foundation to extend our impact nationwide. Receiving national recognition allowed us to build our audience, giving more useful resources to more schools. Together, we equip students for a bright future.
Project Awards:
- National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals’ (NAE4-HYDP) National Communicator Educational Package Team award
Team members Drs. Meagan Scott Hoffman, Kristine Ramsay-Seaner and Amber Letcher accept award for winning the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals’ (NAE4-HYDP) National Communicator Educational Package Team award.
20
States Piloting the Curriculum
After an overwhelmingly positive response to our request for Pilots for the curriculum, the LaunchSkills curricula is being used in 20 different states.
1,200+
Webinar Attendees
Webinar reach has continued to increase over the project period. Attendance increased 49% between Year 1 and Year 2. And we saw an increase of 69% between Year 2 and Year 3.
600+
Students
Over 600 middle and high school youth from six rural counties in North and South Dakota participated in project activities
“Caitlin Pisha is a brilliant and dedicated professional who makes her clients feel seen and supported. In the four years that we’ve been working together, she has proven to be an incomparable asset and the soul of our work. When we’ve had to pivot, she’s made it work (even when it was incredibly challenging). Caitlin has this knack for always blowing my socks off. Whenever we show individuals our LaunchSkills curriculum, they’re often stunned by just how professional and polished it is. If you want someone who is going to listen to you, provide professional insight, and genuinely cares about the outcome – then you need to hire Caitlin. The best decision I’ve made in the last few years was contacting her, she’s the best Creative Director our multi-state collaborative could have asked for.”
Kristine Ramsay-Seaner, PhD, NCC
Associate Professor, School of Education, Counseling, and Human Development