Present-moment attention
Conscious
Students train the muscle of noticing. Where am I, who is with me, what is happening right now.
Trauma-informed. PK-12. Trusted since 1989.
School safety that makes kids safer.
Not scared.
A trauma-informed PK-12 curriculum built by law-enforcement veterans and educational researchers. Situational awareness, mental health, and family engagement. All woven into short animated lessons that fit inside your existing school day.
Recognized by Congress Telly Award Winner Yale-affiliated advisors
Recognized & Awarded
Honored by Congress, the California Legislature, and the industry.
Schools & Districts
The classrooms already running WGYB.
From coastal California to Alaskan tribal schools. A growing coalition of principals, teachers, and families building safer campuses together.
Every hallway. Every classroom. Every kid.
The problem
Schools are stacked with safety hardware.
Kids still don't feel safe.
Cameras detect. Alerts announce. But the moment a student senses something is off, the outcome depends on one thing: whether they were ever taught what to do. WGYB builds that human layer, calmly, early, and without fear.
- One-off assemblies fade in a week.
- Fear-based drills create anxiety, not skill.
- Staff want tools, not another initiative.
- Parents want partnership, not platitudes.
The 4 Elements of Situational Awareness
Four heroes. One quiet superpower.
Each element is embodied by a character kids remember. Not mascots. Skills, drawn.
Reading signals accurately
Sensory
Sight, sound, and gut. Kids learn to distinguish signal from noise and trust the cues that matter.
Decisions based on facts
Informed
Choices grounded in what is real, not what is rumored. A framework for calm, confident action.
Awareness of surroundings
Spatial
Exits, allies, distance, layout. The environmental fluency that separates panic from poise.
The program
Three tracks. One coherent PK-12 arc.
5 to 15 minute animated sessions, teacher scripts, family engagement kits, and staff professional development. Built to fit the day you already run.
Grades PK to 3
Bunny and child-superhero characters
Song, story, and gentle repetition build the earliest habits of noticing and asking for help.
Grades 4 to 8
Adult superhero characters
Kids meet the 4 Elements head-on with dilemmas, role-play, and short animated case studies.
Grades 9 to 12
Whole-class dialogue modules
Real scenarios, real language, real decisions. Built for advisory blocks and homeroom.
WGYB Program Data
85%
Climate, behavioral support, and mental health work together, not in silos. The whole is louder than the parts.
School climate
Integrated, not siloed. Reinforcing, not competing.
Behavioral support
Integrated, not siloed. Reinforcing, not competing.
Mental health
Integrated, not siloed. Reinforcing, not competing.
The Impact
Santa Rita Union Elementary.
A four-year turnaround.
Student-reported school safety dipped before it climbed. That matters. Real culture change is rarely a straight line. What you want to see is the direction it moves when the work compounds.
Student-perceived school safety
Dip, then a 20-point jump.
n = students, annual survey
54%
2022
52%
2024
48%
2025
68%
2026
Staff reporting "school is a safe place for students"
78%
95%
2022+17 pts ▲2026
Staff calling harassment or bullying a moderate to severe problem
62%
44%
2022-18 pts ▲2026
Hear from our educators
The people running the classrooms.
Video
Rosemary Garcia
Creekside Elementary
Video
Maria Valedades
Virginia Rocca Barton School
Video
Leslie Turner
Jesse Sanchez Elementary School
What they say
Voices from inside the building.
Administrators
"We've Got Your Back has shifted the way our students think about safety. Instead of simply reacting to situations, students are learning to recognize concerns early, make informed decisions, and look out for one another."
"One of the most valuable aspects of the program is that it empowers students without creating fear. Students leave with practical skills they can use every day, both on and off campus."
"We've seen increased student awareness around personal safety, campus expectations, and how to respond when something doesn't feel right."
Teachers
"What stood out most was how empowered students felt. They walked away understanding that they can play an active role in keeping themselves and others safe."
"I appreciated how interactive the lessons were. Students were eager to participate, share ideas, and discuss situations they may encounter in their daily lives."
"Students learned that safety isn't just the responsibility of adults. Everyone has a role to play in creating a safe school community."
Students
"I learned that being aware of what's around me can help keep me safe."
"I learned that speaking up when something feels wrong can help protect other people."
"I know who the trusted adults are at my school."
Supporting partners
Voices standing with WGYB.
Actors, advocates, and public figures who use their platform to amplify safer schools.
Thomas Ian Nicholas
Every kid deserves a classroom where paying attention keeps them safe, not scared.
Actor & Producer. Supporting Partner.
Featured in
Rookie of the Year, American Pie
Gigi Edgley
Awareness is the superpower we can actually teach. WGYB is doing it right.
Actress & Advocate. Supporting Partner.
Featured in
Farscape, Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge
Packages
All-inclusive.
$35 to $65 per student,
per year.
Final pricing depends on enrollment and tier. Every tier ships with the full curriculum, digital and physical materials, and ongoing support.
Essential
For single schools starting with situational awareness.
- Full PK-12 animated curriculum access
- Digital lesson library and teacher scripts
- Family engagement toolkit
- Standard onboarding and quarterly office hours
Most chosen
Integrated
For schools ready to align climate, behavior, and mental health.
- Everything in Essential
- Live staff professional development (2 sessions)
- Printed classroom materials and posters
- Implementation coach, monthly check-ins
District
For multi-school and district-wide rollouts.
- Everything in Integrated
- District leadership alignment workshop
- Custom rollout roadmap and reporting
- Priority support, dedicated program lead
The team
Cops, researchers, animators, and a Yale advisor walk into a school.
Thirty-five years of crisis training, translated into a curriculum kids actually finish.
Michael Kimball
Founder & CEO
Patricia Kimball
Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Kendall Zoller, EdD
Program Writer & Educational Advisor. Author of "Heart Space".
Dr. Chris Mason, PhD
Program Writer & Educational Advisor. Yale University.
Nicholas Gonzalez
Administrative Director and Project Manager
Andy Collen
Art & Animation Director / Producer
Amy Collen
Design Production & Web Director
Questions
The parts principals actually ask about.
It is a trauma-informed, PK-12 school safety and mental-health curriculum that teaches situational awareness, decision-making, and peer support through animation and short, low-lift classroom sessions. Developed by law-enforcement veterans and educational researchers, it pairs age-appropriate lessons with staff professional development and family engagement, so safety becomes a school-wide culture, not a one-time assembly.
No. WGYB is explicitly trauma-informed and avoids fear-based content. It teaches proactive awareness and confidence, not fear. Students learn the 4 Elements of Situational Awareness through story and character-driven animation, building lifelong instincts without inducing anxiety.
Most schools invest $35 to $65 per student, per year, all-inclusive. Final pricing depends on total enrollment and selected package tier. Every tier includes full curriculum access, digital and physical materials, and ongoing support.
Sessions run 5 to 15 minutes and are designed to fit inside existing instructional time, with full teacher training and materials included. There is no separate safety block to schedule. It integrates into homeroom, morning meeting, or advisory.
Pre-K through 12th grade, with three age-appropriate curriculum tracks. PK to 3 (bunny and child-superhero characters), 4 to 8 (adult superhero characters), and 9 to 12 (animated modules built for whole-class dialogue).
Yes. WGYB program data shows an 85% improvement signal when climate, behavioral support, and mental health are addressed together. Independent district climate surveys from partner districts also show meaningful multi-year gains, and our advisory board includes Yale University faculty.
No. WGYB complements cameras, alert systems, and badge/access tech by building the human awareness layer that makes those systems effective. Hardware detects, people decide. WGYB trains the people.
Book a free School Safety Audit, a no-obligation 15-minute consultation to assess your school's current approach, identify quick wins, and see whether WGYB is the right fit.
Book a Safety Audit
15 minutes.
No pitch. No pressure.
Tell us about your school. We will map your current approach against the WGYB framework and share two or three quick wins, whether we work together or not.
Prefer email? Reach Michael directly at michael@mckimball.com.
Kids don't need to be scared to be safe.
Bring We've Got Your Back to your school. Fifteen minutes today, a calmer campus tomorrow.
Ready to see WGYB?Book audit