26 May, 2021
The beginning of this school year was filled with uncertainty. Would 2020-2021 be interrupted just like the previous one? Would COVID-19 prevent us from continuing to reach more students with the powerful message of healthy relationships and sexual risk avoidance? Despite a few challenges, the program actually set a new record for how many schools we were able to serve! Here is a wrap-up of our 2020-2021 school year numbers:
- Our Pure Freedom educators taught to 5,407 students in total, including 1,121 in March, which was the peak month
- We had a total of 1,048 class sessions with students
- A total of 44, amazing middle and high schools welcomed us to talk to their students
- And our educators traveled all around the state, to 21 counties in total
“This program really helped me learn more about the human body and to not be afraid to speak up my mind.” – Middle School Student
Did we reach our target numbers?
Yes, we did! Even with a slow start in November and December in terms of students reached (due to the disruptions Covid brought), we consistently hit our target and over, surpassing all expectations.
How do these numbers compare with those of last year?
Our final statistics show a solid increase from the 2019-2020 school year. In comparison, Pure Freedom:
- Served 3,445 students in 2019-2020 vs 5,407 in 2020-2021
- Went to 41 schools in 2019-2020 vs 44 in 2020-2021
- Traveled to 15 counties in 2019-2020 vs 21 in 2020-2021
What about our virtual class sessions?
In 2020, we started conducting some of our classes remotely to give students the relationship education they deserve even in those unpredicted circumstances. This year, we continued doing so, but in a much-improved setting, thanks to our new streaming room! As you can see in the picture below, this room has all the equipment necessary for our educators to provide high-quality virtual education, including soundproof walls! In total, 14.8% of our sessions this year were virtual, while 85.2% were taught in schools.
What webinars have we hosted?
Back in November 2020, we hosted a webinar on the topic of tough conversations. This webinar was open to all parents and professionals and was directed by Pure Freedom educator, Jackson. The feedback we received was positive, and we are hoping to offer more webinars and workshops soon. If you would like to be updated on our subsequent sessions, sign up for our emailing list here.
The Pure Freedom team also participated in the Heartbeat International 50th Conference, with a virtual session on the theme of “Understanding Teen Culture”. In total, we presented to 417 parents and professionals virtually this year.
What were the big highlights of this school year?
“Thank you for coming. I learned more about relationships and how to deal with toxic relationships.” – High School Student
Earlier this year, the Missouri Department of Education released new requirements regarding child sexual abuse prevention education. These new requirements have propelled more schools to reach out to us, requesting that our educators come to teach our program to their students. Indeed, not only is our curriculum trauma-informed, but it also includes entire sections on sexual abuse prevention and is offered to all schools at no cost. You may read more about the new school requirements on child sexual abuse prevention education on our blog. And if you would like to fulfill this requirement next year by inviting Pure Freedom to your school, please contact us here.
On another (very exciting!) note, this year was also the year we released our School Policy Action Toolkit! This toolkit is an excellent resource for school administrators and teachers, and other professionals to create an optimized school environment that fosters healthy learning, relationships, and development for their students. You can now request a copy of the toolkit and instantly download a PDF sample by visiting this page.
Any personal events?
When it comes to more personal happenings, we were overjoyed to see our educator Jackson and his wife welcome a baby girl! Jackson took a break from teaching in March to be with his newly expanded family but came back more motivated than ever. In addition, Larissa, another of our excellent Pure Freedom Educators, has recently announced her first pregnancy! Congratulations to her and her husband! As for our newly arrived educator, Ryan, he proposed to his girlfriend (and she said yes!) at the end of 2020!
How did the students receive the program?
Most students had very positive feedback about the program and expressed that they were thankful to learn how to distinguish a toxic relationship from a healthy one. One high school student said: “Good program. It helped teach me what abuse looks and feels like“.
Learn more about Pure Freedom and our evidence-based primary prevention approach of sexual risk avoidance here. We would be happy to come to your school!
“I think everything was well-explained and let me learn more about everything. Come back next year!” – Middle School Student
Written by Elodie Takamiya.