Corrie Hruby

“Our project will empower Galena City School District (GCSD) students with enduring social, emotional, resilience, and life skills by strengthening relationship-building skills and youth-adult connections. Students will learn how positive, supportive relationships can bolster protective factors, reduce risk behaviors, improve academics, and enhance positive life outcomes. GCSD is a remote district primarily serving Alaska Native students. Most qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, and many have experienced ACEs and other types of trauma. This project will focus on high school students from the following schools: • Grad Academic Recovery Program: a unique distance learning school that meets the individual needs of at-risk students who need educational alternatives to conventional classrooms. • Galena's Interior Learning Academy: statewide boarding school primarily serving indigenous students. • Sidney Huntington High School in the Athabascan village of Galena. • Interior Distance Education of Alaska - statewide homeschool support program. Our project includes two major components: First, we will develop and deliver an asynchronous, online SEL and life skills course entitled "Ready. Connect. Launch!" that will strengthen student resilience by developing and fostering life skills, relationship skills, self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, and responsible decision-making. Students will earn 0.5 high school credit. Second, to amplify the impact and deepen conceptual understanding, we will provide a complementary connection-building event, PHlight Club, that will bring together adults and youth to learn how to strengthen their personal support systems (Webs of Support). This event will teach critical life concepts while providing practice and skill processing to support students emotionally, socially, and academically.”