New!  The WhyTry Program Materials Online

The WhyTry Program: Print or Online? Trying to decide which medium will work better in your setting? Click here for a comparison.

---

The WhyTry Program was created to provide simple, hands-on solutions for: Dropout prevention Violence prevention Drug and alcohol prevention Truancy reduction Failure reduction Anti-bullying worksheets
Our Mission: To help people achieve freedom, opportunity, and self-respect through education and interventions that motivate and create positive change. We offer hope and an answer to the question: "Why try in life?"	The WhyTry Program

The WhyTry organization was founded by Christian Moore, LCSW,  who is recognized internationally as a leading advocate for at-risk youth. Christian speaks at over 100 conferences and events every year, providing keynote addresses, instruction, and inspiration. The rest of the WhyTry team presents certification trainings, in-service trainings, and conference sessions in over 100 cities around the world every year.

WhyTry in Schools

The WhyTry Program was originally developed for adolescents, and most of the original data on WhyTry was collected in high schools. Thousands of high schools use WhyTry to improve student retention, academic performance, and school climate.

The WhyTry Program is often added to an existing course—such as study skills or health—and meets for one period each week over a semester.  Struggling students are invited into the WhyTry course, where they learn some of the critical social and emotional skills everyone needs to succeed. For students in grades 9 and 10, WhyTry can provide tools to help change patterns of failure and indifference and improve their high school career. For students in grades 11 and 12, WhyTry can help provide motivation to put in the effort to graduate and lower the anxiety about their future that often leads to self-defeating behavior.

The WhyTry Program has proven highly effective at impacting negative student behavior in grades 6 through 8.  Developmentally, middle schoolers are in transition. Anything that can be done to remediate and reinforce basic social and emotional skills at this developmental stage can pay dividends down the road. WhyTry curriculum can be incorporated into an existing course, added as a new course, used for advisory periods, or even incorporated into homeroom. Whatever the implementation strategy, WhyTry is an engaging program that students look forward to and continue to talk about after the course ends.  

One of the benefits of its visual and hands-on approach is that the WhyTry Program can be easily adapted for different developmental levels. When our customers began to adapt WhyTry materials for use with younger children, we decided to create our own elementary school pilot program. From this pilot, we created a set of simplified lesson plans and activities for use with elementary-age students. The program is now used in hundreds of elementary schools and continues to gain popularity as an early intervention for helping children deal with the increasing challenges they face.

» Click to watch Videos

WhyTry in Mental Health

WhyTry is used in a variety of mental health settings to remediate social and emotional deficits. Some of the most common mental health applications include the following:

• Residential treatment centers
• Foster care training
• Independent living classes
• Substance abuse counseling