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New to Choose Love? Looking to see if it would be a good fit for your organization? We have put all of the main things you would want to know here. Please message us if you have more questions, want to schedule a conversation, etc.
Learn More About Our Unique & Transformative Solutions
Established in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school tragedy, the Choose Love Movement promotes hope, healing, and connection through next generation Character and Social-Emotional Development (CSED) programming. Before any other learning can be effective, students and educators need to feel safe, cared for, and loved. Through our powerful Choose Love Formula: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion-in-Action, and universal languaging that can positively impact and connect everyone, we are creating safer and more loving schools, homes and communities.
We have thoughtfully designed a series of turn-key, Prek-12th grade CSED supports that combine professional onboarding facilitation with our globally-renowned, trauma-sensitive, healing-centered language and practices to encourage post-traumatic growth and support the social, emotional and mental well-being of students and staff and to promote flourishing.
Choose Love For Schools
Choose Love For Home
Choose Love For Communities
Choose Love For Schools
Newly updated! Get your complimentary access here today. A next-generation Character and Social-Emotional Development program (Infant-Grade 12) is now offered on a new and improved digital platform with a flexible, ready-to- teach format including slides, literature, and embedded videos all designed to be even easier to implement (virtually or in-person). Proactively transform school culture by teaching students essential skills and tools built around the pillars of Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion through an easy-to-use curriculum made for educators by educators.
Choose Love For Home
Choose Love for Home provides families with healthy ways to grow together. Through a series of videos, activities, and “dinner table discussion topics,” Choose Love for Home teaches families how to manage their emotions, communicate in healthier ways and create a nurturing environment focused on things that matter most. Also available in Spanish. Get your complimentary access here today.
Choose Love For Communities
The Choose Love for Communities program was created for local organizations and businesses who want to model the principles of Choosing Love in their shops and offices. It offers ideas, training, and team exercises to help organizations play a leadership role in creating a more loving and peaceful community. It also helps community leaders, politicians, and law enforcement officers learn to better understand themselves and serve others. Get your complimentary access here today.
Nurturing Safe & Loving Communities for 10+ Years
Schools Used Curriculum
Students Reached
Countries
Professional Development
No formal training is required for teachers to use our curriculum in their classrooms. If you want assistance getting your program going, or just want to focus on honing some specific skills, we have several Professional Development Workshops or a Champion Support Program available to assist you. Check out our offerings.
More Resources
We continue to offer a never ending stream of resources and support that partners easily with our no-cost curriculum.
The Story Behind the Movement
It Began With 3 Words
Scarlett Lewis founded the Choose Love Movement after her son, Jesse, was murdered during the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in December 2012 which remains as one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.
At six years old, Jesse died alongside 19 of his first-grade classmates and six educators. In the ultimate act of courage, law enforcement later learned that Jesse used his final moments to heroically save nine of his friends.
Evidence Based
Scientific research proves that teaching evidence-based Character and Social Emotional Development Standards in the classroom significantly benefits all children, including those with special needs – that is, academically, behaviorally, physically, mentally and emotionally. Click here to view additional research on Choose Love For Schools™.
2024 Results of our Educator Survey – 99% of Educators Believe The Program is Effective
| 76% report students showing more COURAGE | 69% report an improvement in student behaviors |
| 80% report students showing more GRATITUDE | 84% say they enjoy teaching the program |
| 72% report students showing more FORGIVENESS | 78% believe students enjoy the program |
| 79% report student showing more COMPASSION | 68% reported increased job satisfaction |
| 61% report increased student academic success | 82% report benefiting personally from the program |
| 75% report an improvement in classroom climate |
33% report improvement with student attendance
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How the Choose Love programs are received:
Scarlett and her organization were included in the release of the Federal Commission on School Safety Report. Its number one recommendation is teaching character values and social-emotional learning as part of proactive prevention.
| Scarlett was part of the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development which released a major national report – From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope. It calls out to all areas of society to accelerate efforts to ensure that all students have access to quality Character Social-Emotional Development (CSED) which has been Scarlett’s lifelong goal since losing her son at Sandy Hook. | Scarlett has led workshops at multiple conferences including Bett in London, SXSW EDU, and ASCD Empower18. She has been the keynote speaker at the National Forum on Character presented by Character.org and the Music City SEL Conference in Nashville. Additionally, Scarlett was interviewed by BBC, Fox News, and many regional papers and podcasts about the Choose Love Enrichment Program and the benefits of CSED. See Scarlett’s media kit to learn more. |
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The first statewide adoption of CHOOSE LOVE was New Hampshire! Governor Sununu of New Hampshire was the first to release his statewide school safety plan. His plan focuses on character social emotional development as an essential part of school safety and is using the Choose Love For Schools as the backbone of the state’s recommendation.
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To date, Choose Love Programs have been accessed in all 50 states, Washington DC, and in 120 countries! There are over 15,000 schools that have accessed our resources! Choose Love Results: Read evaluations of our program as well as insight from educators. |
Testimonials:
“I found out that it was 100% effective, not only did it help with my at-risk students, it helped with my students that were doing well. It teaches social-emotional learning, it teaches self-improvement, and also compassion in action. It is one of the best programs I have ever found. It is innovative, it can be used across your district. If you want to make a difference not only in your students, but in your overall faculty, you need to take advantage of this program.” – High School Counselor, Booneville, AR
“Choosing Love has given me the opportunity to create an environment where my students feel safe to be themselves, to make mistakes and to grow. I have never seen a community of children come together in such a supportive, meaningful way in my ten years of teaching. The program has not only changed my classroom climate, but me as an individual as well. I know that Choosing Love is having an impact when I see my students standing up for one another and helping each other during a difficult time, even without anyone knowing or watching.” – Elementary School Teacher, Darien, CT
“It has been exciting to see the changes in students after just one year of teaching Choose Love curriculum to our students. I can’t wait to see the difference it will make after students and staff across the school district have been involved with Choose Love over the next few years. I know that we will see more compassionate and thoughtful students growing into more compassionate, courageous and thoughtful adults. This is exactly what the world needs!” – Superintendent, Hillsboro, TX
