Equipping high school seniors
for What’s now & what’s next
Gain knowledge about yourself, your relationships, and your life.
Build a resilient mindset and gain the life skills needed to thrive.
schools we serve
Charlotte Latin School
Union Academy
1 in 3 students experience sadness or hopelessness
More than 1 in 3 high school students had experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, a 40% increase since 2009.
1 in 6 youth make a suicide plan
In 2019, approximately 1 in 6 youth reported making a suicide plan in the past year, a 44% increase since 2009.
“We need to build fences at the top of the hill instead of hospitals at the bottom.“
“My biggest take away from Launch was to go into college with an open mindset. Enjoy it, introduce myself and don’t be scared to make new friends. This program has helped me so much with my nervousness and my nervousness about homesickness and everything else going into college. I’ve learned that it won’t be that bad if I meet some new friends, introduce myself, keep in touch with home and keep some things constant as I go to college like the things I love. And so I am so excited to go to college now. Thank you, Launch!”
Marry
Charlotte Latin School
Meet our founder
WHITNEY D’ALLAIRD
Executive Director
Hi, I am Whitney D’Allaird and in December of 2017, I lost my oldest son Tyler to suicide – 15 weeks into his freshmen year of college. I do not want other parents to experience the pain I currently feel.
Unfortunately, I never had many of the conversations with Tyler that I now know – we MUST be having with our children. THIS – is why I founded FOR Students.
We are here to teach and talk with students about what matters most to them, what they are experiencing in their lives and give them tools to help themselves and their peers.
our curriculum: a program where trained staff and mental health professionals come in and host monthly events
Launch provides an engaging, year-long series of events that build relationships with high school students and equip them with the tools they need to manage their mental health in a constantly changing world. This isn’t a curriculum that is handed off to teachers in the hopes that they can work it into their daily material. This is a plug and play program that creates experiences designed to capture the attention of high school students and give them the information and skills they need to thrive.
Knowing yourself – Temperment and it’s interpersonal and resilience correlations
Students and faculty will be more aware of their own predisposition and how it potentially affects their relationships and their perception of adversity
Relational Problem Solving
Students and faculty will learn effective strategies for managing problems with others
Healthy Relationships
Students and faculty will be able to identify healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors
Gratitude
Students and faculty will understand how to practice gratitude and its affect on experienced contentment and happiness
grief
Students and faculty will better understand and be able to manage grief in its many forms
Stress management & mindfulness
Students and faculty will learn relaxation techniques and be able to identify when to use them
Managing Intense Emotions
Students and faculty will be able to identify and manage uncomfortable emotions without resorting to impulsive behavior which can exacerbate difficulties
holistic diet
Students and faculty will become more aware of their visual and audio “diets” and their affect on thought patterns
Anxiety
Students and faculty will know what anxiety is, what causes it, and will be able to implement two techniques proven to help its management
Suicide Prevention/ Abbreviated QPR Training (Question Persuade Refer)
Students and faculty will know what to say and do when someone is in a mental health crisis
Guardrails/Substance Use and Abuse
Students will understand the different types of substances, their dangers, and their inherent addictive properties, particularly on those of specific predispositions
Pop-up events
Several times a year, the team puts on small events in the senior parking lot or lounge. These fun surprises allow our staff the opportunity to get to know the students better and vice versa. These investments create greater influence and trust between our teams and the students and make future events that much more effective.
benefits of the program
After participating in Launch, High-School students will be capable of managing their mental health and relationships because they have the necessary knowledge, mindset and skills.
We talk about what students want to talk about and what mental health professionals want students to hear
we provide a safe space for conversations about any topic with no judgement
Our events are built around a community's felt-needs and provide research-based responses
We treat every individual with positivity, compassion and respect, and approach every circumstance with hope
Our events are created to capture and keep student's attention, and our long-term approach to relationship and influence-building increases that engagement
don’t wait another school year to give students the tools they need to thrive in life after high-school.
what students are saying
“I really had a great time at NEXT these past couple of days. I think something that has helped me a lot has just been seeing so many perspectives from professors, adults and alum that have just gotten out of college and gone through the process. It has been a lot of helpful information that puts me forward in my journey.”
Thierry
Charlotte Latin
“I really like the speakers that Launch brought in. They got into some topics that aren’t often explored by people our age and people we talk to all the time and I think they are topics that will really help us be prepared for college and things that we may face that we did not necessarily know before but they were also really cool stories that opened my mind a little bit.”
Anna
Charlotte Latin
see this program in action!
LAUNCH for Students has been in place at Charlotte Latin School for over 2 years. You can follow them on Instgram: