History & Mission

At her high school reunion in 1989, Jill Siegal Chalsty was approached by a former classmate who had bullied her throughout high school. The classmate apologized for tormenting her and explained that she was now teaching life skills to at-risk adolescents who, like herself as a youth, lacked the skills necessary to face their daily challenges and lead successful lives. Inspired by this encounter, Jill embarked on a yearlong research project to identify the missing link to effective education. She discovered that the life skills essential to all youth, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities, were not being explicitly taught in the classroom.

In 1992, Jill founded the Community for Education Foundation (CEF), a nonprofit education reform organization that addresses the need for relevant skills instruction. At the time, character education was primarily limited to at-risk youth. To ensure that all young people learn these vital skills, CEF developed and published the Overcoming Obstacles Life Skills Program, which provides curriculum materials, teacher training, and ongoing support to educators.

Overcoming Obstacles has been formally recognized by cities nationwide for its positive impact on students' grade point averages, attendance rates, classroom behavior, personal development, and family relationships. Based on its success in cities like Atlanta, Indianapolis, Jersey City, and Los Angeles, the New York City Schools Chancellor Rudolph Crew adopted Overcoming Obstacles for use in advisory, peer mentoring, dropout prevention, substance abuse prevention, and school-to-career programs. By 1996, with accolades and endorsements from school districts, state and city governments, nonprofit organizations, and corporations, Overcoming Obstacles' reach had significantly expanded and CEF moved its headquarters to New York City. To ensure that educators across the nation could effectively implement the curriculum themselves, Overcoming Obstacles began providing professional development and ongoing support services.

CEF is committed to ensuring that all young people learn the communication, decision making, and goal setting skills they need to be successful in life. To help fulfill its mission, CEF recently launched the Gifting Initiative to provide the Overcoming Obstacles Life Skills Program to educators at no cost, with the goal of making life skills instruction a part of every student's basic education. Several hundred schools in New York City, Charleston, Newark, and Kansas City are currently enrolled.

Since its inception, the Overcoming Obstacles Life Skills Program has positively impacted the lives of over two million students and has been used by tens of thousands of educators across the country. With the launch of the Gifting Initiative, CEF's goal of providing every student with life skills instruction is quickly becoming a reality.