Family Leadership School

The Family Leadership School (FLS) is a unique educational and residential program with for families.  The FLS is not a shelter or emergency housing, but an opportunity for families to move permanently from an uncertain existence to a future of productivity and promise.  Families in the program accept the challenge to change their lives.  Crossway supports their commitment to improving their families' future by providing:

• A safe, healthy environment in which to live and learn.
• High-quality, educational services and training.
• Licensed and accredited educational program for children 3 months to 6 years.
• Skilled and experienced professional staff.
• Integration into a supportive neighborhood.
• Recognition and support for the challenges that families face in order to function better.

If you are interested in applying to the Family Leadership School please click here.

Family Leadership School Life Skills Curriculum

Students will take three twenty-week courses each year.  The trimesters are Fall (September through December); Winter / Spring (January through April); and Summer (May through July).  The classes meet twice a week and childcare is provided.  The courses are:

Orientation

All new students participate in an orientation course that prepares them to learn and get the most out of their tenure in the Family Leadership School.

Economic Literacy

This course will serve as an introduction to various essential competencies needed to successfully develop a fundamental understanding of economic literacy. Specifically, by the completion of this course, students will be able to: 

1. Successfully establish and maintain a personal bank account.
2. Understand fundamental money management and how to establish credit.
3. Apply critical problem solving skills in determining economic needs.
4. Compare and contrast the use of cash or credit in becoming a comparison shopper.
5. Navigate social systems of public transportation, housing, and health care.

Health and Safety: Personal and Family Health

This course will provide an introduction to essential personal and family health knowledge, skills, and dispositions so that students will be able to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Specifically, by the completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand and apply stress reduction techniques through commitment and participation in regular physical activity.
2. Understand and apply sound nutrition knowledge to the development of family meal plans.
3. Understand knowledge of women and children's health by recognizing emerging family health needs and applying sound decision-making.

Family and Social Development

This course will provide an introduction to essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to develop strong family and social structures.  Specifically by the completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Understand various definitions of family and apply them to their own.
2. Analyze their personal multigenerational family diagram and the meanings within various family relationships
3. Develop strategies for understanding and managing themselves in relationship with others.
4. Understand the role of play within family structures.
5. Successfully apply knowledge of common baby and child development and behavioral issues to their own families.

Education and Career Development

This course will provide an introduction to essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to establish educational goals, recognize career opportunities, become self sufficient, and provide for a family.  Specifically, by the completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Successfully complete the job acquisition process including selecting a position, writing a resume, supplying for a job, and interviewing.
2. Understand the impact of "victimization" and "entitlement" in undermining a successful career path.
3. Explore personal attributes necessary for specific jobs/careers.
4. Develop a needs assessment based on personal and professional strengths and challenges as matched with family concerns.
5. Implement problem solving skills in developing a career/family vision.

The Family Leadership School Life Skills Curriculum is based on guidelines established by the:

Committee on Community-Level Programs for Youth

Board of Children, Youth and Families

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

National Research Council (http://www.nationalacademies.org/nrc)

Institute of Medicine (http://www.iom.edu)

Creating an Effective Living-Learning Environment

Crossway recognizes the importance of creating a supportive and nurturing environment to enhancing learning.  Therefore, Crossway is committed to providing a positive developmental setting for their students based on recommendations of the Executive Summary of the Community Programs to Promote Youth Development Report (2002) (http://books.nap.edu/books/0309072751/html/1.html#pagetop).  To that end, training, implementing, and systematic evaluation of programs, staff, faculty, and administrators within the living-learning environment of Crossway Community will be incorporated to provide the following specific features:

• Physical and Psychological Safety (i.e., safe and health promoting facilities and practices that increase safe family / social group interactions while decreasing unsafe or confrontational family / social interactions)
• Appropriate Structure (i.e., clear and consistent rules and expectations, clear boundaries)
• Supportive Relationships
• Opportunities to Belong
• Positive Social Norms (i.e., rules of behavior, expectations, obligations for service)
• Support for Efficacy and Mattering (i.e., student centered, empowering)
• Opportunities for Skill-Building
• Integration of Family, School, Work and Community Efforts
  
  

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