We Care About Young People

Our mission is to support educators to be self-reflective,

passionate, and capable to walk alongside our students

through the Owning Up Program

Cultures of Dignity

Cultures of Dignity is an organization that works with communities to shift the way we think about children and teen’s emotional and physical wellbeing. We are working together to help people—students, teachers, families, and community members—to understand and engage in the academic, social, and emotional complexities of young adolescence.

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We support students as they navigate their adolescence and education so they attain their social, emotional and academic potential.

Owning Up Program

How to work with us

We work with school communities to understand and engage in the academic, social, and emotional complexities of adolescence. Host or attend an Owning Up Training on the Owning Up Curriculum to better understand civic dialogue and critical thinking in moments of conflict.

District Wide Trainings

School Wide Trainings

Individual Trainings

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Your teachers and partners for the Owning Up Program

CEO & Co-Founder, Cultures of Dignity

Charlie Kuhn

Educator, Counselor, Director of Owning Up Programs

Carey Goldstein

SEL Trainer and Curricula Specialist

Dystanie Douglas-Burger

Owning Up Online Professional Development will be available soon!

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Owning Up Program Testimonials

“

What is unique about the curriculum laid out in the book is that it integrates insights from the latest research in social-emotional learning (SEL) along with an understanding of dignity. This comprehensive approach gives educators, social and emotional learning experts, counselors, and others proficiency in how to impart this invaluable knowledge to middle school age students.

Donna Hicks PhDWeatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
“

The lessons are incredibly relevant. I have students participate and raise hand to share that usually do not. This morning I started session 4 about teasing and laughing, and the class had such a powerful discussion. They thought about really important concepts to carry with them next year into middle school.

Melissa LundeSchool Based Mental Health Associate
“

Owning Up is an invaluable curriculum. I have used it consistently for 15 years in many settings. It is particularly relevant for middle schoolers, who need guidance in the operations of social culture and how to navigate the often treacherous landscape of relationships through middle school and beyond.

Julie Baron, LCSW-CFormer Middle School Counselor, Adolescent Therapist, and co-author of What Works With Teens