Programs

Poised Gentlemen Institute delivers cohort-based character development for boys ages 10 to 17. We run inside schools, charter networks, and youth-serving nonprofits, and we measure every boy we serve.

The cohort model

A cohort is 8 to 12 boys, grouped by developmental stage rather than by grade level. Boys meet on a fixed weekly schedule across a 12-session semester. Sessions are led by trained adult mentors at a ratio of roughly 12 boys to one mentor, and the curriculum moves through all four pillars.

We ask for a two-week lead time to build a cohort with partner staff. That planning window is where we identify the right boys, align the schedule to the building’s calendar, and set the baseline assessment.

Who the program is for

Most schools have boys who are not discipline cases and not honor-roll cases. Nobody is programming for the middle. The boy who is slipping quietly, who has stopped raising his hand, who has started performing toughness because he does not know what else to do. That boy is who this is built for.

Measurement

Every cohort is assessed at three checkpoints using the Poised Relational Index: baseline before the first session, midpoint, and completion. Partners receive a written pre and post report, not a thank-you letter.

Our curriculum aligns to three established frameworks: CASEL for social and emotional learning competencies, Positive Youth Development, and PVEST for context-sensitive adolescent identity development.

Results to date

Across our first 24 boys in two completed cohorts delivered in partnership with Son of a Saint:

• 85 percent attendance, on a voluntary after-school program the boys chose to return to
• 8 in 10 boys improved at identifying their own emotional state and choosing their response
• Two cohorts completed with full pre and post measurement

Bringing a cohort to your school or organization

If you lead a school, a charter network, or a youth-serving nonprofit and you want to discuss a cohort, write to david@poisedgentlemeninstitute.org or call (504) 318-0107. Twenty minutes is usually enough to tell whether it fits your setting.