Premier Educational Systems, LLC offers these Educational Services to your school or program: Academics, Character Building materials and Seminars. The series of highly effective coaching seminars for both the teens and parents are offered through the division, Premier Educational Seminars. The following information will give you detailed seminar information, placement of seminars in the overall flow of the program and the value of the various seminars.
During your journey through your school or program, please visit your school's web site to obtain seminar material and schedules, and to register for upcoming events. The chart below outlines the relationships of the various seminar elements.
And as your family advances through each stage of the process, remember that this is a results-based program, not time-based. So don't let occasional backward steps discourage you. Let's get started.
Teen Orientation
This is a two-day seminar to introduce your child to the overall purpose and flow, of not only the seminars, but also the school/program. These two days are spent introducing key concepts such as accountability, agreements, and the types of issues that created your teen being in the program. The intention is to have your teen start seeing value in creating change. All teens enter the program in resistance. The sooner two messages are internalized, the sooner your teen will begin to really work for change. Message One is that you are not coming to rescue them. The only way home is to create lasting change. Message Two is that creating change is only done by doing the work. Many teens think sitting and “DOING TIME” is all that is needed to return home. Orientation is the first wake up call for your teen.
Orientation also sets the standard for working the program. It is critical your son or daughter realize quickly things are different both in the program and at home. Many students complete Orientation the first time. If your teen does not, this means they are in active resistance. If they do not complete Orientation, or any other seminar, your support is critical in getting the message to the teen this will not work! Teens will be in an Orientation within 4-6 weeks of entering the program. After completion of Orientation, your teen will enter an Orientation Support Group for the next month. This will assist them in preparing for Discovery. There are 50 points given for Orientation.
Teen Discovery
This is a three-day seminar addressing such issues as accountability, integrity, choice, trust, anger, and honesty. Your child will attend Discovery generally 11-14 weeks after entering the program. Your child must have recommendations from your Family Rep (FR), Orientation Support Group leader, and his/her family/group. There is a workbook your teen will be using after completion of Orientation. If significant work has not been completed or your teen continues to be in resistance, your teen may not be recommended to Discovery.
This seminar requires the teens to deal with the issues that brought them to the program. Orientation and the Support Community have assisted in preparing the teen for Discovery. The standard for completion of Discovery requires teens to be dealing with issues, participate, and to be direct and honest. Teens may complete Discovery the first try, but some do not. Some may not even be invited to the seminar due to lack of work. As the parent you must understand the seminars are effective when your teen is willing to work, not just sit through them. Before moving to other seminars, your child must complete Discovery.
If a student fails to be invited to Discovery or Chooses Out during Discovery, he/she will be refocused on the work they need to accomplish during the next 6+ weeks to gain entry into the next Discovery seminar. They will rejoin the Orientation Community. It is important that you understand and support the Choose Out concept. If your teen is not invited or Chooses Out, you must let them know nothing less than real change is required before they can come home. Real change requires evidence; choosing out of a seminar is not evidence of working the program.
Once your teen graduates Discovery, they will become part of a Discovery Support Community for the next few weeks. This support group will assist in reinforcing the principles of Discovery and prepare the student to utilize the Focus seminar to its fullest. As part of the Self Directed Program, your teen will do an evaluation of their participation in Discovery, and he/she may earn up to 200 points. There is a formal rating sheet your teen will use for this evaluation. Your FR will have this after the training as well as other report sheets filled out by the staff and trainer. If your teen receives a point total of 130 or above, this indicates a solid job done in Discovery. If they are in the range of 90-130, this is average, a good job but not pushing themselves. A score of 90 or below indicates just getting through. The score will give you an indication of how hard they worked the seminar.
Teen Focus
This three-day seminar centers on critical life experiences and self-limiting beliefs that have created low self-esteem and inappropriate behavior. Your child will attend Focus after successful completion of the Discovery seminar. Generally Focus is 6-8 weeks after Discovery.
The aim of the Focus seminar is for your child to begin to make new choices regarding their behavior. This requires the risk of releasing their old image and self-limiting beliefs. The standard for participation is much higher in Focus than in Discovery. This is the major dealing seminar and to be effective we need to be beyond compliance and looking good for the program or parents.
Many teens do not graduate Focus on their first attendance. This is not surprising. Your teen should be very near or ready to move into the Leadership Phase of the program upon graduation from Focus. It is critical they work the Focus seminar so that their time in the Leadership (upper) status is productive. During Focus, your teen will be introduced to the concept of values. Homework is assigned concerning values. This homework is used in the Principles seminar.
Attendance at the Focus seminar depends on the teen’s work within the school/program. Your teen must be recommended to Focus by your FR, the Support Group leader and your teen’s family/group. If your teen is not recommended to Focus, they will rejoin the Discovery Support Community to deal with their resistance. Our recommendation is that a student should be Advanced Status (Level 3) to be considered for Focus. As in Discovery, your teen will evaluate their participation in the Focus seminar. The maximum number of points that may be earned from Focus is 400 points.
Teen Principles
Upon completion of Focus your teen will be invited to a Principles seminar. This one-day seminar is generally 6-8 weeks after Focus. The day focuses on values, friends, clothes, music and dating. Requirement for completion of Principles is completion of their Values workbook presented the last day of Focus. If your teen has not completed the workbook, they will not complete Principles. Upon completion of Principles, the students will receive “Perfect” scores for the day, so their Program Points are not negatively affected.
In Principles your child will have the opportunity to begin to develop a conscious value system. It is not the intent of Principles to teach specific values to your teen, just the concept. It is a family matter as to what are the values of the home. During the adult seminars, you will formalize a value frame for your family. This is a time for the teen to begin to look at the values which work in life and choose values that align with the family value system. Most teens already know the values of the home. Principles will focus them on living a values-based life. This is a critical element which will be used daily in the program’s Leadership Phase.
Keys to Success (1-day workshops)
These are a series of workshops geared for teens in the Leadership Program. The focus is to develop skills that assist the child in enhancing family and peer relationships. Additionally, your teen will be given the opportunity to measure the degree they are honoring their values. A Values Results check is done during each Keys workshop. No points are given for Keys workshops. Each student must complete three workshops in the Leadership Program in order to be eligible for program graduation.
There are seven different Keys workshops that focus on skills such as communication, addiction recognition, peer relationships, leadership, and anger management. Your child will attend Keys workshops upon achieving Service status in the program. During the time spent as an Upper status, the teen may attend a Keys workshop whenever a Premier trainer is on-site. By the time your child enters the Keys seminars they should be consistently working the program.
Each facility utilizes the seminars support in slightly different fashions. Premier works with each of the schools to train and assist in the effective development of their overall seminar program. Please ask your FR about the use of Communities and special training days associated with your school.
Support Communities
After completion of each seminar (Orientation, Discovery, Focus) your teen will be joining a month-long Support Community. This support group includes a workbook to assist the teen in practicing the concepts obtained in the seminars. To be eligible for the next seminar your teen must gain the
support of their support group coordinator, FR, and other senior adult staff who work with your student. If your teen fails to do their work during the month, they may not be supported into the next seminar. The seminars are only valuable if the students are willing to work in them. Please do not ask the facility to put your teen into seminars if they are not recommended. It is important that you hold your teen accountable. The reason for not being recommended is due to their resistance in working the program. Support your teen by letting him/her know you expect them to work their program, not give excuses.
Accountability
Accountability is a one-day results based seminar. Students will be given an opportunity to evaluate their results for the past months and any issues impacting those results. Accountability may be used in two different ways within a school. In some schools the first day a trainer arrives he/she will work with each community (and the coordinator) to determine who has continued to apply the material and is prepared to use the next seminar. Based on the monthly results, if the facility and trainer do not recommend your teen to the next training, they will spend time with the student to refocus them on what needs to be done to prepare for the next month. If your student is recommended to a seminar, they will be given some pre-work to assist them in maximizing their seminar experience.
Some facilities have the elements of Accountability built into the monthly support communities. In this case, a trainer-led pre seminar day is not used. The facility may elect to use the Accountability day at the end of a seminar sequence to work with teens who did not attend a seminar. This time is spent in refocusing the students on specific issues and/or their resistance to the program.
Each school has a slightly different focus for use of this day. While the seminars are standard throughout the schools, there are program differences regarding progress standards, communities, accountability and special days such as BreakPoint. Premier works with each school to maximize the seminar elements within their program framework.
Choosing Out of a Seminar
Once your teen enters a seminar, they must continue to work the seminar material. If the facilitator, in working with your teen, does not experience them working the seminar, the facilitator may declare that the teen has “chosen out” of the seminar. The term Choose Out is important. Your teen will be given MANY opportunities in the seminar. The facilitator will give them coaching and warnings if they do not observe the teen working in the seminar. Your teen is never chosen out for only ONE item. For example, while you may hear from your teen the “trainer kicked me out because I did not finish my homework,” this is not accurate. Hold your teen accountable for their choices in the seminar. Ask them about the group purpose and their choices in the seminar. Ask what other warnings, coaching or feedback they were given during the seminar. A Choose Out Sheet will be created for each student as they leave the seminar so the FR and the parents have a better understanding of the behavior being exhibited by the teen. There are valuable lessons for the teens in choosing out. They have done work during the month to earn a seat in the training but this is just the invitation. They must work within the structure of the seminar to gain the value.
BreakPoint
BreakPoint is a special one-day seminar designed to assist teens in looking at their resistance to moving forward in the program. BreakPoint is only offered when requested by a school. If your son or daughter continues to show active resistance for several months, your school working with Premier may utilize this special training. Generally there needs to be 20+ students before a facility determines to require this seminar. If your student is in BreakPoint, it is critical that you confront your student’s lack of commitment to the change process. Many other strategies and efforts will be used with your teen to encourage engagement in the process. However, as you know, some of your teens can be VERY resistant. Your teen will have at least two or three times to refocus on their program before BreakPoint is considered. Your program will work with both you and your teen if BreakPoint becomes necessary. Your assistance when your teen is in this level of resistance is critical in re-engaging them in the process. Your continued work on YOUR program is also critical for your teen to get the message that nothing less than working their program will be acceptable.
Teen Service (Staffing)
Upon achieving Service status, your child will be allowed to serve as peer leader in the Teen Discovery and Focus seminars. This is a key part of our leadership program. Service is an opportunity for your teen to internalize the concepts of the seminars by serving as a “buddy” to new students participating in the seminars. This leadership opportunity is invaluable in the development of a solid sense of self-confidence. This in turn will assist the child in dealing with his/her peer groups when they return home. Service in the seminars is a part of the program that will assist your child in forming boundaries and to stand firm rather than “follow the group.”
Technically, the Parent seminars are an optional element in the total program. Realistically, they are indispensable. They are highly recommended for all family members. The total program involves ALL of the family. The parent seminars are YOUR program. They focus on YOU, as well as giving you insight into the program in which your teen is involved. The adult seminars give parents new tools to create a new family dynamic. It is essential for you to be involved fully. While you cannot do your teen’s program, your willingness to work and change sends a definite message to him/her.
You will want to attend ALL the seminars and workshops. The parent seminars are offered in various locations around the country. Locations and dates are available through your school’s web site in the Parent Support Services area. Parent attendance at Discovery is strongly urged within 3-6 weeks after enrolling your child in the program.
NOTE: You do NOT need to attend any parent seminar to visit your child. You may visit your child once they reach the proper level or status for a visit, as determined by your school.
IMPORTANT – Please read this before continuing:
We would like you to understand that these are experiential seminars rather than the traditional lecture type. The seminars include group interaction, self-disclosure, individual and group feedback. You will be asked to take an intensive, close self-examination of your beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. At times the seminars will seem confrontational and emotional; at other times, joyful, exciting and loving. Participants have felt like leaving, especially the first day. It is imperative for you to realize this and commit to stay for the entire training. These are not trainings in which you may come late or leave early. You must attend all days of the seminars and be there the entire time. We want you to totally focus on the seminar during these days. No phones, beepers or other types of communication devices are allowed in the trainings.
You will have breaks throughout a seminar. These are short, and many times you will have items to work on relating to the seminar. We recommend arriving the night before the seminar begins. If you are flying, we do not recommend scheduling a flight out on Sunday before 8:30 p.m. The seminar will be over before this time, but most people want to stay and visit with newfound friends afterwards. Once we receive your seminar registration, an email will be sent to you with additional information. (If you do not have email, a letter will be mailed to you.)
Parent Discovery (3 days)
Shortly after your child enters the program, a representative will invite you to participate in a Parent Discovery Seminar. Similar to the Discovery seminar attended by the teens, this seminar forms the basis for the parent and child to work together in additional seminars. Discovery is really in the name. This is a place to discover not only the fundamental concepts of the seminars but also to learn things about oneself that will assist in making positive and purposeful life changes. Please note: Program policy states that Parent-Child seminars are not open to the family unless the parents have completed the Parent Discovery seminar. Please do not call the seminar office for an exception to this policy; discuss such issues with your school's administration.
Parent Focus (4 days)
This is the second seminar available for the parents. This seminar is NOT required to attend the P-C workshops. Similar to the Teen Focus attended by your child, Parent Focus builds upon the foundation established in the Parent Discovery seminar, and creates additional tools to ensure success for the family. Key concepts introduced in Discovery are expanded in Focus. Skills for integration of these concepts into your life are presented. Additional elements on personal and parenting choices are added to make it the prime seminar in the creation of a new family dynamics for your home. The standards of participation are higher than in Discovery. Parents should come ready to work. Review of Discovery material is recommended, as well as completion of a life story. This story will assist you in dealing with personal and family issues.
Keys to Success (2-day workshops)
After completion of Focus, you may attend a series of workshops to assist you in fully integrating all the seminar material into your life. These workshops focus on specific personal and parental skills. There are several modules, which you may attend during your time in the program. Topics include Addiction Awareness, Effective Communication, Being in Relationship, Vision and Abundance and Living a Purposeful Life. These key workshops are the Internalization Phase for the parents. Creation of new family dynamics requires implementation, practice and energy. Without these workshops, parents will find themselves misaligned with program teachings and the lessons your son or daughter is learning. The real value of KEYS is not within the weekend. You will be joining a KEYS FAMILY with whom you will be working for a period of about 8 weeks. There is a workbook to be used to practice and integrate the KEYS material into your life. This workbook will guide your Keys Family for the eight weeks following the weekend. The VALUE is created by doing the work, not just being in the 2-day seminar. In your Keys Family you will learn to work with different types of people, issues, breakdowns, and ways to create success.
Staffing
Staffing is a key element in the internalization phase of the program for parents. Internalization is developing the necessary skills and attitudes to handle various relationships. Peer relationships are always a major challenge for teens, and often for adults. Staffing is an optional element for the parents, but we at Premier consider staffing just as important as the seminars. This is often a great means to reconnect with the principles of the seminars. You will be able to staff once you have completed Focus. Another important aspect of staffing is serving new parents as they begin their journey. Once you attend Discovery you will become aware of the power of having another parent lead and support you as you begin this journey. Staffing is about paying it forward, as someone did for you. If you desire to staff at your child’s facility, you must staff an adult seminar first. Registration for staffing is available in the Parent Support Services area of your school's web site.
Parent-Child Workshops (3 Workshops)
The Parent-Child series of workshops is offered to you as a family at various stages of your program. Your facility/school will invite you to the P-C workshops based on the results your child has created in the program. There are three Parent-Child Workshops, designed to assist families in a successful integration of the child back into the home. The first Parent-Child workshop is held at the facility/school, while the others are held on either the East or West Coast. You and your teen will travel to the appropriate site. There is a fourth, optional workshop designed for families once the child has graduated P-C III and has returned home. To attend any of these Parent-Child seminars the parents must first complete the Parent Discovery seminar, as set forth in your Program's policies.
Parent-Child I (2 days)
When your child graduates Discovery, if the program recommends, and the parents are Discovery graduates, the school will send the parents an invitation to attend P-C I. This weekend is designed to address outstanding issues within the family from pre-program days. What you have learned in prior seminars is critical to this weekend. It is highly recommended this be your first visit to your child. The family will develop a plan to continue the work with the child and facility once the workshop is complete. P-C I is required to attend other P-C seminars. At P-C I, if you did not attend Focus, parents will be given a 7-week workbook which centers on the development of a Value Frame for the family. It is vital that the workbook be completed before P-C II.
Requirements for P-C I attendance:
Parent-Child II (3 days)
When the following requirements have been met, you and your child will be invited by your school to attend a P-C II seminar:
Highly recommended: Student and parents should have completed at least 3 Keys workshops.
This is a critical seminar in which you and your child will begin the process of reintegration of the family. This is an opportunity to spend three days working with your child without any distractions. You will focus on current issues, strengthen family ties, start the home internalization process, and begin to build a new family dynamic. A major outcome of the seminar is the development of a Family Plan focusing on the issues remaining to be addressed for successful return home.
Internalization Phase
Upon successful completion of the P-C II seminar, your child will enter the Internalization Phase of the program. This is the final stage of the program and typically your child should be within 6 months of returning home. The Internalization Phase is a minimum of 4 months and may be extended as long as necessary to achieve success. If desired or recommended, your family may return to P-C I for additional strengthening and work. During the Internalization period, you will have greater access to your child to continue the process begun in P-C II. Work begun in P-C II on the Life (Home) Contract will be continued, as well as resolution of issues on the Family Plan. An essential part of the internalization phase is the home visit.
P-C III (2 days)
P-C III is the graduation seminar for your family. All family members who are Discovery or Youth Seminar graduates are invited to attend P-C III. Families will be invited by the school to attend the P-C III seminar after meeting the following criteria:
Family Coaching Resource
Once your family graduates the Program, you will be offered an opportunity to enroll in the Family Coaching Resource (FCR). This is a support program to assist you in applying all the principles and tools you and your family learned during the program. The program is the place to learn and practice, but the real work begins once you are reunited as a family. The FCR allows a specially trained family coach to work with your family on your home contract, values-based living and creating a new family dynamic. The FCR will assist in creating success at home. The FCR is an optional program, and there is a fee required. You will learn more about the FCR at P-C II.
Medical Requirements
The seminar days are long. Generally, each day will be at least 12 hours in length with meals and bathroom breaks. We encourage people to bring water and snacks. The seminars at times may be emotional. Persons with certain medical conditions may be asked not to attend the seminar. If you have any of the following medical conditions or other personal health concerns please contact the Premier Educational Systems office for further information:
Our goal is to assist your family while providing the safest possible experience.
Premier Seminars Office Contact Information
Voice 435-635-7298
Fax 435-635-3477
Your school provides a variety of online support services for parents, including Premier Seminars information. If you do not have web access, we strongly recommend obtaining both web and email support. Updates to schedules, hotels, and other seminar information are posted on a weekly basis. Become familiar with your school’s web site. Look for the link to Parent Support Services.
In addition to school-specific information, the following services are available on the web site:
Schedules
Information regarding upcoming parent seminars, dates, locations, and transportation information are generally posted eight weeks in advance of the seminar.
Online Registration
There is an online seminar registration system parents may use if they have web access. This system greatly reduces time for confirmation and information concerning seminars. You must have a valid email address to use this system. You may register for Discovery, Focus, Keys To Success, and Parent-Child seminars using this system.
Regional Enrollment Policy
There are seven regional seminar training sites in the US. They are:
Seattle, WA San Jose, CA San Diego, CA Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX Atlanta, GA Newark, NJ
In the online registration process, you will be asked for your city of residence. Based on the region of the country in which you live, you will be assigned to the appropriate regional training center. The regional policy ensures we have space for all parents to attend the seminars.
Youth Leadership Camps
A series of summer camps are offered for siblings of teens in a school associated with Premier Educational Systems. These week-long events include the basic material in the Discovery and Focus seminars as well as a high and low ropes course. Siblings may attend P-C III if they are graduates of a Youth Camp. Information and schedules are posted to the Parent Support Services area of your school's web site. Youth camp registration cannot be completed using just the online system. We need specific signatures on file. You may print all the registration forms from the web site.
Forms
If you need forms for either seminar registration or staffing, you may print these from the web site. We encourage staffing once you have completed Focus. This mirrors what is available to your teen in the program. (Teens may staff seminars once they have reached Service Status.)
Hotel Information
You may obtain information regarding hotels used for our seminars through your school's web site. This information includes address, telephone contact, maps, and cut-off date for hotel discount rates.
Seminar Handouts
Each seminar you attend has a set of handouts to be used for study and review. The handouts for Discovery and Focus may be printed from the web site before you attend. Please print this material and bring it with you to the seminar. You must print off the Keys material before attending the workshop. You will be provided with password and instructions for the Keys material in your confirmation letter.
At the Discovery seminar you will be provided a 3-ring binder. We recommend placing your school's parent manual and seminar material into this binder. Please bring this binder to all seminars.
One final note: Premier Educational Systems works closely with your child’s school to provide the teen and parent seminars for their program. But Premier does not have any authority or responsibility in school policy. We are a contracted service provider for your school. Each school is independently owned and operated. Seminar policy and seminar integration in each school may vary. If you have a question about seminar registration or other seminar concerns, please contact our office. If you have a question about your child, your school, its program or policies, please contact your Family Rep.