About Wyman

Wyman is located in St. Louis, Missouri and directly serves teens in the St. Louis region. We train and support schools and organizations in more than 30 states to replicate two of our programs, Teen Connection Project and Teen Outreach Program, in their communities. 

Individuals, foundations, corporations, and community partners can support Wyman in several ways through:

• Donations: Make a one-time gift or become a Trailblazer with a monthly recurring gift. Your investment fuels proven programs that help teens build skills, confidence, and connection during pivotal years of development.  
• Advocacy: Use your voice to advance Wyman’s mission and the policies, practices, and investments teens need to thrive. Advocate for educational equity, life and leadership skill development, teen mental health supports, and evidence‑based approaches, like Wyman’s, that center youth voice and connection. 
• Partnerships: Partner with Wyman in a way that fits. Join us as a community partner through thought leadership, advocacy, collaboration, and shared growth, or as a program replication partner, bringing Wyman’s evidence‑based programs to more teens and communities. 
• Volunteering: Share your time and talents to support Wyman’s programs, events, and teens in meaningful ways.
• Engaging and Learning: Explore Wyman’s programs, research, and insights to better understand what helps teens thrive. Follow our social media and subscribe to our newsletter. 

Wyman has a longstanding commitment to research and a dedicated Research & Learning team that uses evaluation, research, participant & facilitator feedback, and outcomes data to assess program quality and respond to the real needs of teens. Our programs are grounded in data and designed to work across communities.

Positive Youth Development (PYD) is defined by the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs as “an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families in a manner that is productive and constructive; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths”.

PYD is not a specific program but an approach that guides programs, policies, and practices that support healthy youth development. PYD is:

1. A philosophy rooted in the belief that adolescents and young adults are not problems to be fixed, but individuals with strengths, potential, and the capacity to thrive when provided with guidance, support, and opportunities;
2. A strengths-based approach focused on identifying and building upon young people’s strengths and interests; and,
3. A developmental process whereby young people develop important social, emotional, leadership, and life skills over time as they engage with positive relationships, meaningful opportunities, and safe, supportive environments.

All Wyman programs use a Positive Youth Development approach to guide program design and create supportive environments where young people can learn, grow, and thrive.

“Evidence-based” youth programs refers to programs that have been studied using rigorous research methods, such as a randomized controlled trial or a quasi-experimental study.  A key feature of these studies is that outcomes for youth who participate in the program are compared to outcomes for similar youth who do not participate. These study methods provide greater confidence that the positive outcomes observed are likely the result of the program or intervention rather than other factors, like typical development.

Some youth programs are also reviewed by independent evidence registries that assess the quality of the research and whether the program sufficiently demonstrated positive outcomes. Registries such as the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Program Guide or Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development help practitioners, schools and communities identify programs supported by strong evidence.

“Evidence-informed” programs have not yet been evaluated with rigorous research, but they are intentionally designed using theory, research, and best practices.

Wyman programs are informed by research and supported by evidence. Teen Outreach Program and Teen Connection Project have been studied through rigorous research and reviewed by independent evidence registries. Wyman Leaders has demonstrated positive outcomes, and is informed by research on adolescent development, social-emotional learning, and post-secondary access and success.

Social-emotional or life and leadership skills are terms, much like “21^st Century skills”, “soft skills”, “workforce readiness skills” or “character development”, that refer to knowledge, attitudes and abilities that young people develop over time to help them navigate life’s opportunities and challenges. These skills are important for healthy development and include abilities that help young people understand and manage their emotions, set and achieve positive goals, solve problems effectively, make healthy decisions, show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, communicate clearly, and collaborate with others.

Research shows that these skills develop over time and can be strengthened through intentional programs, practices, and supportive relationships.  Further, stronger social-emotional and life and leadership skills are associated with positive outcomes in other areas such as academic success, workforce readiness, less engagement in risky behavior, and better mental health. These skills not only help young people successfully navigate their adolescent and young adult years but also prepare them for success later in life.

All Wyman programs are intentionally designed to help young people build these critical social-emotional and life and leadership skills.