An after-school program for grades 11–12 that runs in two halves. Eight weeks of structured practice in the executive function skills students are already expected to develop — planning, initiating, persisting, adapting, and working with others. Then a real company hands them a real problem, and they have eight weeks to apply what they learned and deliver a solution. First cohorts start in spring 2027.
Knowing a skill and using it under pressure are different things. C.O.R.E. closes that gap with repeated practice, so students use these skills with confidence. The first eight weeks build the behaviors. The final eight weeks hand students a problem no one has rehearsed for — which is how you find out whether the skills transfer. The result is specific evidence for each student, not just an attendance record.
The first C.O.R.E. cohorts are scheduled to start in spring 2027, and no school has run one yet.
Company partners are committed, the curriculum is complete and has been reviewed by a practicing classroom teacher, and the program runs annually once a school is placed.
If students spend sixteen weeks preparing one answer, what you learn is that they can follow a long assignment. If they train for eight weeks and are then handed something new, you find out whether the behaviors hold under unfamiliar conditions.
The company is not a guest speaker and not an audience. It brings a problem it actually cares about, and at the end it questions the work. Students are judged on whether what they produced is useful to someone who was under no obligation to be kind about it.
C.O.R.E. is built around five behaviors students practice repeatedly and then demonstrate. Each maps directly to ASCA Student Standards, so participation produces evidence a counselor can document.
| What students practice | ASCA standards demonstrated |
|---|---|
| Decide well | B-LS 1 critical thinking to make informed decisions · B-LS 9 gather evidence and consider multiple perspectives · B-SS 5 ethical decision-making and social responsibility |
| Act without waiting | B-SMS 1 responsibility for self and actions · B-SMS 3 independent work · B-LS 4 self-motivation and self-direction |
| Finish the work | B-LS 3 time-management and organizational skills · B-LS 6 high-quality standards for tasks · B-SMS 5 perseverance toward long- and short-term goals |
| Change course | B-SMS 6 identify and overcome barriers · B-SMS 10 manage transitions and adapt to change · B-LS 2 creative approach to problem solving |
| Be resourceful | B-SS 6 effective collaboration and cooperation · B-SS 3 positive relationships with adults · B-LS 5 media and technology skills |
| Final Client Defense | B-SS 1 effective oral and written communication and listening · B-LS 7 long- and short-term academic, career and social/emotional goals |
What your counselor receives: a per-student record of which standards each participant demonstrated, with the work sample and employer feedback attached as evidence — delivered with the 30-day outcomes report.
Numbering follows the current ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. We map to your district's adopted version on request.
Weeks 1–8 use short cases, team challenges, simulations, and research tasks to build the five behaviors. Weeks 9–16 apply them to a real company problem, ending in a two-hour Final Client Defense.
Two hours, in your building, at the end of the sixteen weeks. Six teams of your students present evidence and recommendations to the company that gave them the problem. The company asks real questions. Students answer them.
It is a professional client meeting, not a pitch competition — and it is an event you can invite your superintendent, your school leadership team, and families to attend.
No school staff in the room. No curriculum to adapt. No company for you to find. Two of our moderators — a mix of teachers and recent graduates, trained by our staff on the C.O.R.E. curriculum and in trauma-informed practices — run every session. A liaison on your side handles scheduling only.
One 90-minute block per week, immediately after dismissal, for sixteen weeks. No impact on the bell schedule.
Before the first week, we build the sixteen-week plan around your testing windows, breaks, and known interruptions.
One all-inclusive flat fee per cohort. No per-student charges, no materials fee, no add-ons. The program can also be subcontracted through an after-school provider already under contract.
With grant funding, schools pay as little as $25,000 for a cohort that costs $50,000 to deliver. One flat, all-inclusive fee — no per-student charges, nothing billed separately. Grant funding is limited and awarded first-come, first-served; ask what is currently available for your school.
The fee can be paid from school funds or subcontracted through an after-school provider already under contract.
Students who have not yet been handed real responsibility — not the ones already on a defined career path with internships lined up. Most enrichment in a large high school lands on the same two dozen students every year. C.O.R.E. is built for the ones who never get picked.
Students do not work on a hypothetical. A named company brings a problem it genuinely cares about, presents it to students at Week 9, and returns for the defense at Week 16. Partners span music, entertainment, telecommunications, law, and technology — so the problem can be matched to what your students are actually interested in.
More companies are joining, and the list grows every season. One company is matched to each cohort and named to your school before any agreement is signed.
One cohort of 24 juniors and seniors, delivered in your building against your calendar. You supply students, a room, and a weekly block.
Next step: a 20-minute call, educator to educator, to check schedule fit.
A complete, self-staffed 27-hour block for extended-day contracts. Attendance and contact hours reported in your format, mapped to your deliverables.
Next step: we send our capability document, including compliance paperwork and pricing.
One company, one problem — real enough that the company cares about the outcome, focused enough to finish in eight weeks. No confidential information is requested or accepted, so nothing depends on clearances or legal review.
Sixteen weekly sessions from January to May 2027, with the letter of intent in mid-November and everything confirmed before any commitment becomes binding.
Richard Frierson has spent his career building businesses, solving real problems, and helping young people learn how professional work actually gets done. Through internships at his companies, he has personally mentored dozens of college students in real professional environments — which is where C.O.R.E. came from.
As a teenager in New York City, he began producing records as an early member of The Hitmen, the in-house production team at Bad Boy Records. His credits include albums by The Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Faith Evans, and 112, including two albums that reached number one on the Billboard 200. He later built a music licensing catalog of more than 5,000 songs, with placements across film, television, and major brands including Gatorade, Pepsi, and AT&T. His production career is documented on Wikipedia.
Many former interns have gone on to build successful careers and businesses of their own, and some still reach out years later for advice and perspective. That experience shaped the belief at the center of C.O.R.E.: young people do not only need information about careers. They need opportunities to practice making decisions, taking responsibility, producing useful work, responding when things change, and earning the trust of people who depend on the result.
In 2025, he launched Unstuck Global, advising executives and entrepreneurs on leadership, decision-making, and organizational performance.
Curriculum review. Donnel R. Smith, a practicing middle school computer science teacher, technology coordinator, and assistant curriculum writer, reviews C.O.R.E.'s curriculum and session design for feasibility inside a real school building.
Affiliations are listed for identification only and do not imply endorsement by any employer.
Send us the name of your school or organization and a time that works. We will bring schedule fit, the ASCA mapping against your district's adopted version, and what a first cohort would look like in your building.
Richard Frierson · Founder · The Avant Order