BUFFALO, N.Y. — A program in Western New York is trying to expand into schools. Global Resilience Trainer Duncan Kirkwood announced a new partnership with Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) on Monday. It's to bring 'Unleash Your Greatness, a program into the school year.
Duncan Kirkwood is the Founder. He said the goal is to teach students a variety of skills. He explained, the program will "develop their resilience, their purpose, their self-love, their confidence. We're going to turn them from students who we're trying to fix their behaviors, We're going to take them to students that are leaders."
Kissena Frazier, owner of Access Granted, said, "I always say that students, they're already great, we are just here to make them greater. So we're unleashing their greatness, it's already in them."
Kirkwood said in a media release, "The Unleash Your Greatness initiative is a bi-monthly pilot mentoring program aimed at empowering students to overcome adversity, improve academic performance, and develop leadership skills. Over the 2024-2025 school year, we will engage a select group of up to 35 students per school, guiding them through 16 resilience-building workshops. These workshops will focus on life skills, academic support, and personal development, providing students with the tools they need to thrive."
This is a pilot-program is being taught in BPS Buffalo School of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management and BPS Dr. Charles R. Drew, Science Magnet School.
Mark Shoemaker is the Principal of Dr. Charles R. Drew, Science Magnet School. He said, "to be able to have this intense program, mentorship, be able to work from October until all the way to the end of the school year, on really growing their skills and their communication, it's exciting."
Kirkwood laid out the program's key elements for students.
- Dynamic Keynote Speeches: At each kick-off assembly, I will deliver an inspirational keynote to ignite excitement and set the tone for the program.
- Focused Mentoring Workshops: Bi-monthly workshops will guide 35 students per school in building resilience, enhancing life skills, and developing leadership capabilities.
- Academic and Life Skills Support: Students will receive homework assistance, time management coaching, and connection to school resources to ensure academic success.
- Student Engagement and Branding: Students will help create a unique name and brand for the program, and all participants will receive custom T-shirts to symbolize their commitment to growth.
- Data-Driven Progress Monitoring: We will track students' academic progress, attendance, and behavior to evaluate the program's impact and make necessary adjustments."
The goal of the program is not only to teach students valuable skills inside the classroom, but also outside.
"When they come in the classroom, they've got baggage, they've got trauma, they've got all this stuff. So we can teach them the skills to deal with those things, the resilience to overcome hard times, the grit to push through things that are difficult, the self-love to understand that just because this is your situation now, doesn't mean you deserve to be in that situation. Once they start to learn those things, all of a sudden they can push themselves academically, they can reach for things, they can have goal," Kirkland said.
Since this is only a pilot program, the hope is expand into other schools in the future.