Schools & Alternative Education
Sessions and workshops that fit inside a school day, an advisory period, or a campus-wide initiative.
Youth ages 11 to 19 · Central Texas
Real conversations. Real life skills. Brighter futures.
Level Up is a life skills and youth empowerment program built on honest conversation. It is written for young people in schools, alternative education, juvenile justice settings, churches, and community programs, and it deals with what they are actually dealing with.
Every step counts. That is the whole idea.
What Level Up is
Not another adult talking at you.
Level Up runs on conversation, not lecture. A facilitator puts a real question in the room and students do the thinking out loud. They talk, they disagree, they write things down, and they get asked to explain why.
Some students choose to be there. Some were told to be there. The program is built for both, because a young person who walked in with their arms crossed still deserves a conversation worth having.
Nobody gets humiliated to make a point. Accountability and shame are not the same thing, and Level Up treats them differently.
- Who it is for
- Young people roughly 11 to 19, including students who were referred, placed, or required to attend.
- Where it is designed to run
- Schools and alternative education, ISS and DAEP, juvenile justice and intervention programs, churches, and community organizations.
- What it covers
- Decision making, consequences, communication, relationships, goal setting, self-awareness, and preparing for real life.
Where Level Up fits
One program. Six kinds of rooms.
These are the settings Level Up is designed for. The conversation changes depending on where we are standing. The approach does not.
ISS & DAEP
Programming built for in-school suspension and disciplinary alternative education placements.
Juvenile Justice & Youth Intervention
Sessions for probation programs, detention settings, diversion programs, and intervention services.
Churches & Community Organizations
Youth groups, after-school programs, summer programs, mentoring groups, and community centers.
Youth Workshops & Events
Single-session workshops for conferences, summits, family events, and community days.
Facilitator Development
Training and support for adults who work with youth and want to run better conversations.
What youth experience
What actually happens in the room.
No icebreakers for the sake of icebreakers. Here is the shape of a Level Up session.
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It starts honest
No speech about potential. The room gets set up so students know what this is, what it is not, and that they are allowed to be skeptical.
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Students do the talking
Questions go out, and answers come back. Students discuss, disagree, and work through situations that sound like their actual lives.
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It gets written down
Workbook pages give students somewhere private to think. Goals, choices, patterns, and plans go on paper in their own words.
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It gets challenged
Students are pushed to explain their reasoning. Accountability is direct, but nobody gets humiliated to make a point.
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They leave with something usable
Every session ends with something a young person can actually apply the next time a decision shows up.
Skills and topics
What students work on.
Sessions are shaped around the group in front of us. These are the areas Level Up covers.
Decision making
Slowing down the moment between a situation and a reaction, and looking at where each choice leads.
Consequences
Tracing choices forward honestly, including the ones that feel small at the time.
Goal setting
Naming what you actually want, writing it down, and working backward to the first step.
Communication
Saying what you mean, hearing what someone else means, and handling conversations that get hard.
Healthy and unhealthy relationships
Recognizing what respect looks like, what pressure looks like, and the difference between them.
Positive self-talk
Noticing the way you speak to yourself and what that does to the choices you make next.
Anger management
Understanding what anger is telling you and what to do with it before it costs you something.
Problem solving
Breaking a real situation apart, weighing options, and picking a way forward.
Are you a student?
This page isn't really for you. That one is.
If somebody told you that you have to do Level Up, read the version written for you instead of for the adults.
Inside the workbook
Students think on paper.
Every young person gets a workbook. It is where the conversation becomes something they can keep, in their own handwriting.
Workbook section
Goal setting
Space to write down where you actually want to be, and what it takes to get there.
Workbook section
Decisions and consequences
Scenarios that ask students to follow a choice all the way through.
Workbook section
Relationships
Exercises on what respect, pressure, and loyalty look like day to day.
The Level Up workbook is proprietary. We show how it is built and what it covers, not the curriculum itself.
Student voices
Real students. Real thoughts. Real impact.
We do not photograph students to prove our work. We share what they wrote, in their own handwriting, including the parts that sting.
Images may be enhanced for readability only. Student responses and original handwriting have not been altered. Original feedback forms are available upon request.
Why we protect student privacy
Privacy is not a policy. It is the reason the room works.
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Privacy helps create trust.
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Trust allows honest conversation.
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Honest conversation creates space for growth.
We do not make photography a focus of our programming. Protecting students’ privacy helps us create an environment where young people can speak honestly and participate without feeling that they are being put on display.
The Foundation
Why Level Up Foundation exists.
Level Up Foundation equips young people with the practical skills, confidence, accountability, and support needed to make informed decisions, overcome challenges, and create stronger futures for themselves.
Level Up Program LLC built the curriculum, the workbook, and the way a session runs. The Foundation's job is a different one: the settings serving the youth this program was designed for are often the ones with the least room in a budget.
Level Up Foundation works to close that gap through grants, sponsorships, and community support, so cost is not what decides whether a group of students gets the program.
We envision communities where every young person, regardless of circumstance, has access to the tools, guidance, and opportunities needed to recognize their potential and move forward with purpose.
Level Up Program LLC created and developed the Level Up curriculum, workbooks, and facilitator resources. Level Up Foundation is the nonprofit organization working to expand access to that programming for youth who might not otherwise receive it.
Why funding matters
What support actually pays for.
Nothing abstract. Funding turns directly into workbooks in hands and facilitators in rooms.
Student workbooks
Every participant gets their own workbook to write in and keep. It is the part of the program that goes home with them.
Program materials
Printed activities, session supplies, and the everyday materials a facilitator needs to run a strong room.
Student achievement incentives
Recognition for young people who show up, participate, and follow through. Small things land hard at this age.
Program delivery
Facilitator time in the room, session planning, and the follow-up that keeps a partnership working.
Travel
Reaching campuses and organizations outside the immediate area, including rural communities with fewer options.
Facilitator development
Training and support for the adults who run these conversations, so quality holds as the program grows.
Level Up Foundation is a Texas nonprofit organization. Federal tax-exempt status is not yet in place, so contributions should not be treated as tax deductible at this time. We will update this page as soon as that changes.
Bring Level Up to your organization.
Tell us about your youth, your setting, and what you are trying to change. We will take it from there.
- Principals, counselors, and campus support teams
- ISS and DAEP coordinators
- Juvenile justice and youth intervention staff
- Church and community youth leaders
- Funders and sponsors who want to make it possible