New Perspectives, 4/1997 - SUWS Youth Program

Founded in 1981, the SUWS Adolescent Program is among the oldest outdoor-based programs in the United States. With over fifteen years of service, SUWS has helped thousands of students successfully correct negative behavior and redirect their energies to more productive and rewarding paths.

SUWS’ success with the older student has led the organization to create one of the first programs in the country designed specifically to address the needs of younger adolescents, ages 11 to 13. According to Sue Crowell, Administrative Director for the SUWS programs, “Through our work with teenagers we have come to realize that a vast majority of their problems stem from a seeming lack of self-worth. We have designed our Youth Program to help students avoid this self-defeating trap by providing a fun, challenging, and rewarding experience that will give them a firmer understanding of their own strengths and potential.”

Youth Program Director, Mark Lauer, has spent over nine years working with adolescents in wilderness settings - seven of those with SUWS. His extensive experience has helped him develop a solid core curriculum to help the pre-teen gain a healthier perception of self-worth and a stronger sense of self-identity. “We have found that actions and activities are powerful learning tools for this age group,” he says. “Therefore, we focus on learning by doing--by allowing each child to succeed by working through problems to achieve solutions step-by-step. Through hands-on activities, our students will experience and experiment with principles of cause and effect, and come to better understand their responsibility for consequences of personal decision. In addition, individual and group counseling sessions will be used to help the children assimilate and understand the importance and value of the lessons they are learning.”