You get asked what you think
Real questions, out loud, about things that actually come up in your life. Your answer matters more than ours.
For youth
You don't have to have everything figured out.
You just have to show up and be honest. That is the whole ask. Here is what Level Up actually is, before somebody else explains it to you.
Maybe you signed up. Maybe you were told to be here.
Both happen. A lot. We are not going to pretend everyone walks in excited about a program they did not pick.
What we will say is this: the session is going to happen either way, so you might as well get something out of it. Plenty of people have walked in with their arms crossed and walked out with something they wrote down for themselves.
And some people leave thinking it was not for them. That happens too, and we publish those responses on this site along with the good ones.
Straight up
What this is not.
- A lecture where an adult talks and you nod.
- A punishment, even if you were sent here.
- A test. There is no grade and no right answer to guess.
- Therapy or counseling. Level Up is a life skills program, not a clinical service.
- An adult pretending to talk like you. That is not happening.
Where you are right now is not a prediction.
Your situation and the choices you have already made explain where you are standing. They do not decide where the road ends. That is not a slogan, it is the actual point of the program.
What to expect
What actually happens.
You are allowed to disagree
If something sounds wrong to you, say so. Pushing back is part of it. You will just get asked why.
You will get challenged
Not embarrassed. Not called out in front of everyone. Just asked to explain your reasoning and follow it through.
You write things down
You get a workbook. What you put in it is yours. Goals, plans, things you would rather not say out loud.
You can be quiet
Nobody is going to force you to talk. Most people end up saying something anyway, usually when a question hits close.
You leave with something usable
Not a motivational quote. Something you can actually use the next time a decision shows up fast.
Your privacy
We are not putting you on display.
Photography is not a focus of our programming. Protecting your privacy is a big part of how the room stays honest, and we do not use pictures of students to prove the program works.
What we do share is what students write on their feedback forms, with no names attached. Nothing that says who you are. If your school or program ever takes photos at an event, that is their own media and permission process, not ours. If you want to see exactly what we publish, it is all on this site.
From other students
Their words, not ours.
These are real answers from students who did the program. We left in the ones that were not complimentary, because taking those out would make the rest worthless.
For parents and guardians
What your young person is walking into.
If your child has been told they are doing Level Up, here is what that actually means, in plain terms.
Is this counselling or therapy?
No. Level Up is a life skills and youth empowerment program. Facilitators are not therapists and do not provide clinical services. If a young person needs that kind of support, that is a conversation for the school or program.
Is it religious?
No. Level Up is written to work in churches as well as public schools and justice settings, and the content is the same in all of them. It is not faith-based instruction.
What will they be asked about?
Decisions, consequences, friendships and relationships, communication, goals, and how they talk to themselves. Students choose how much they share, and nobody is required to disclose anything personal.
Who is in the room?
A Level Up facilitator and a staff member from the school or program who knows the group. We do not run sessions with young people unsupervised.
Will my child be photographed?
We do not make photography a focus of our programming, and we do not publish images that identify young people. Where a school or organization has its own media policy and consent process, that process applies and we follow it.
Do you keep records about my child?
No. We do not ask for or store student names, school records, disciplinary history, or court records. Workbooks belong to the student and go home with them.
Questions about your own child are best answered by the school or program running the session, since they know your student and we do not hold records about individual young people.
Want Level Up at your school?
Tell a counselor, a teacher, a coach, or whoever runs your program. They can reach us, and it costs your school nothing to ask.