"Let's Chalk About It" is a Youth Empowerment and Support (YES) initiative that has taken place annually across the Division for more than 10 years. This year, students took up their chalk May 4th to 8th. Success Coaches work directly with students to create positive mental health messaging to share in chalk drawings and collaborate with teachers to organize participation locations throughout their communities.
The initiative is designed to connect students to their communities while encouraging them to take a leadership role in spreading positive mental health messaging during Canadian Mental Health Week.
The YES Program began in the Division in 2004 as part of the Mental Health Capacity Building Initiative funded through AHS. What started as a very small program operating only in Olds has grown significantly over the years. Today, it serves every community within Chinook's Edge and provides Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programming to all Kindergarten to Grade 8 students across the Division.
Success Coaches provide universal classroom SEL instruction, targeted small group support for referred students, lunch hour programming, after-school opportunities, and year-round support including summer and non-instructional day programming. Currently, 12 Success Coaches work across 22 schools in 12 communities.
