Advocating for Healthy Relationships: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Discovery Education Unite to Drive Student Awareness Around Domestic Abuse

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, announced today their collaboration to launch Take A Stand for Healthy Relationships – an initiative funded by a contribution from the Verizon Foundation to teach students how to understand and build healthy relationships, reject abuse, and safely ally for themselves and others if experiencing abuse.

“As the voice of victims and survivors of domestic violence, NCADV is proud to partner with Discovery Education to establish our mission in schools nationwide,” Ruth Glenn, Executive Director at NCADV. “We hope that through the implementation of this curriculum, students will learn strategies that will positively impact them for the rest of their lives, specifically as they encounter new people and environments.”

Launched today, Teens4HealthyRelationships.com will empower young people to Take A Stand for Healthy Relationships,by providing K-12 classrooms with educational resources, including standards-aligned curriculum, to encourage them to exercise skills in communication and self-awareness. Immersive program tools, including self-paced modules and lesson plans, developed by NCADV and Discovery Education, will help teach students how to recognize healthy qualities and behaviors in relationships. Available at no cost to classrooms nationwide, Take A Stand for Healthy Relationships will help students examine emotional intelligence, external influencers, and how to identify unsafe situations. Through these activities, students will be able to explore how to effectively and carefully advocate for themselves and others. They will also be able to access strategies for how and where to get help, if in or witnessing an abusive experience.

One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence. Take a Stand for Healthy Relationships is launched at a time when the growing need to disrupt this trend, especially in young people, has become more apparent than ever.

“Discovery Education is proud to support NCADV in their life-saving work to create a society with zero tolerance for domestic violence,” said Lori McFarling, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Discovery Education. “By initiating these important conversations at an age where many young people are establishing some of their first tight-knit bonds, ‘Take A Stand for Healthy Relationships’ empowers young people with tools that will help them recognize unsafe behaviors, and to advocate for their personal safety and the safety of others.”

In addition to the student resources offered through Take A Stand for Healthy Relationships, Discovery Education will support program integration in schools with the creation of educator guides, which also include standards alignment and hands-on activities, to equip school staff with strategies to support students through the critical content in the lessons.

“This program is necessary in every classroom throughout the world,” said Karen Wells, Midland High School educator from Batesville, Arkansas. “Thankfully, ‘Take A Stand for Healthy Relationships’ provides educators with incredibly efficient tools to teach students the skills they need to be safe and protect themselves.”

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources, professional development initiatives, and other services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com. 

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About National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)

NCADV is the voice of victims and survivors.  We are the catalyst for changing society to have zero tolerance for domestic violence.  We do this by effecting public policy, increasing understanding of the impact of domestic violence, and providing programs and education that drive that change. For more information about NCADV, visit www.ncadv.org.

About Discovery Education

Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional development, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers, and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York City, has a diverse workforce of 160,900 and generated nearly $126 billion in 2016 revenues. Verizon operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with 114.2 million retail connections nationwide. The company also provides communications and entertainment services over mobile broadband and the nation’s premier all-fiber network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.