What We Accomplished in 2018
Sometimes we get so busy on day-to-day projects that we forget to look back at just how much we’ve accomplished so far. Thanks to all of your efforts, 2018 was a banner year for DFI.
Looking back at 2018
We began last year with approximately 250 instructors across 30 states:
As we looked to the following year, we set an ambitious goal for ourselves: double our number of instructors from 250 to 500. We didn’t know if we could do it, but we felt it was important to set stretch goals to work against.
In 2018 we saw new instructors joining DFI from across the country (and in some cases, outside the US), but it wasn’t until the holidays that we were able to sit down and analyze the data. And it blew us away.
DFI ended 2018 with over 700 instructors representing every state in America:
(newly-added instructor states in orange)
DFI instructors reached approximately 200,000 kids with our curriculum in 2017. By the end of 2018, the number of kids reached had increased to 900,000: an increase of 350%!
We knew there was a need out there for content that could help kids make better life decisions. But when we think of how DFI’s curriculum is spreading so rapidly, we know it all goes back to our instructors.
Our instructors have been spreading the message of DFI not only to the kids who need it, but also to their colleagues, including SRO professionals, educators, and administrators who all want to make a difference in kids’ lives. We are humble and grateful to all of you for the incredible work you do.
What’s in store for 2019
As we look ahead, we are again setting ambitious goals for ourselves. Our goal this year is to increase our instructor count from 700 to 2,000. That might sound like a lofty goal, but when you consider our instructor growth last year, we know it’s achievable.
And our goal in recruiting these new instructors is to reach more kids with DFI’s curriculum. We intend to expand the number of kids reached from 900,000 to 2 million. Every day we find new stories about kids struggling with the realities of substance abuse, digital threats, and the increasingly complex terrain of adolescence. The more people hear about DFI, the bigger the impact we can make on behalf of these kids.
We’re seeing bold new research being done into areas like teens and substance abuse, the prolonged effects of social media, and how parents can help encourage positive decision making in their kids. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re updating all of our curriculum this summer to reflect these latest findings. (You can find some of the sources of this new content in our new Reading List.)
Instructors often ask us what areas they should focus on when teaching DFI curriculum to their kids. The best answer is: it depends! Every class is different, and some classrooms need special emphasis on specific topics. That’s why we recommend taking 30 minutes to administer the Digital Intelligence quiz. It’s 100% free, and it will show you exactly what areas your kids need you to focus on for the year ahead.
We’re thrilled with the progress we’ve made so far, and we know none of it would have happened without you, our instructors. Thank you for the incredible job you do, and we look forward to another amazing year together.
Digital Futures Initiative (DFi)
DFi’s mission is to empower educators, parents and communities with informative, useful resources and solutions to help guide today’s digitally-connected youth on making better decisions, mitigating digital threats and using the power of digital, mobile and social media for their benefit.
DFi provides the necessary tools and training programs for educators, law enforcement (SRO’s) and parents to help them instruct kids on safer, more responsible internet and mobile use, and to better manage specific problems that can arise—including cyberbullying, sexting, online predators, substance use, loss of emotional intelligence, distracted driving and more.
Digital Futures Initiative (DFi) was created to deliver digital life skills to students and parents in an innovative, consistent way. Lessons are designed by curating the best and most current content available in the world and the curriculum is made available for FREE to any school, county or group who needs it. The program includes all of the self-paced online training, powerpoints, images, videos, presenter’s notes, and in-class activities that are needed to start teaching digital citizenship in your classrooms today.
To sign up simply go to https://Certify.DFiNow.org and register as a new user after that use as many of the lessons that you need.