Who We Are
Practical Guidance Resources Educators Can Trust

The National Center for Youth Issues provides resources to communities, schools, organizations and individuals, enabling them to model, and to teach children and youth the importance of embracing, the values and virtues necessary for positive behavior and citizenship.

Because so many children come to school without basic values and good behavioral skills, many states and school districts are mandating, most of the time without funding, that character education be taught in the classroom.  School administrators have asked for training to implement character education in their schools, and teachers have asked for tools to impart this important message to their students as part of curriculum.

We continue to develop our conference management division and our speakers/trainers/consultants bureau to insure excellent training opportunities and resources for our constituents.  We continue to publish, produce, locate and distribute new materials, storybooks, puppets, manuals, videos, workbooks and curricula for use in the classroom.  In some instances we have found excellent faith-based materials such as Veggie Tales and have worked with the producers to create a version welcome in the public schools.

We have introduced the Resource Center kit concept for elementary, middle and high schools.  The kits provide the schools with approximately 3 years worth of character education and life-skills development support materials to assist the teachers in the delivery of these important messages.  We also offer assistance in helping schools find funding for them.  (Sponsors may fund a school of their choice for a $500, $1,000 or $1,700 contribution.)

Educators remain extremely positive about our efforts and products to where our base of schools has increased from 19,500 to more than 29,000 in the past three years.

Over its twenty-year history, our organization has grown to be financially stable with a $3.5 million current year budget.  Ongoing funding requirements are primarily related to the continued creation and development of new and innovative programs, products and services, such as regional conferences, that address the needs of the exploding character education and life-skills development movement across the United States.

Our goal is to uphold good, sound moral standards as a model for young people in their daily lives; to craft our materials and services with time-honored principles, written in a format acceptable and welcome in public schools; and to become a beacon, shining the light of virtue and illuminating the benefits of making positive, healthy choices into the classrooms of America.