Grades 9 to 12

Kerry Berry Lab: Ownership

Students prepare to manage self-care, grooming, and presentation independently. They evaluate labels and claims, build a routine under a shared spending cap, and explain the reasoning behind each choice.

Discuss a program for your school

Schedule14 weeks, one class period each week

Hands-on learning3 Workshop Days, 90 minutes each, roughly monthly

Investment$14,000All-inclusive

Group sizeUp to 25 students.

Illustrative NYC student activity for grades 9 to 12 — AI-generated student scene, not a photograph of program participants.

The frame

Ownership grows from knowledge, practice, and routines that can restart after a missed day.

This tier begins with no assumptions about what students learned before. Every concept is taught as new material and practiced at the right level for this age.

Hygiene, sweat and odor management, sports and locker-room care, and healthy reset routines
Natural hair pride and maintenance, scalp care, protective styles, heat styling safety, and shaving or beard care where appropriate
Labels, ingredients, product safety, and marketing claims
First impressions for interviews, internships, college visits, presentations, and work; natural hair can be worn confidently and professionally
A routine under the same $15 cap for every student, preventing income-based ranking

Grades 9–12

Ownership in practice

Self-care includes a healthy reset: rest, stretching, quiet time, journaling, grooming, caring for hair, and preparing clothes or supplies. Students choose practices that fit their lives; services and purchases are optional.

Shared learning

A co-ed session covers clean spaces, general hygiene, scalp and skin basics, product safety, self-care, confidence, first impressions, and personal presentation.

Targeted breakouts

When appropriate for the school, short 15–20 minute groups with suitable facilitators explore selected topics. Students are not asked to disclose personal concerns.

Girls’ breakout topics

Natural hair appreciation, protective styles, heat styling safety, scalp care, easy hairstyles, and restorative routines. Cycle hygiene may be taught educationally without intimate questions or medical advice.

Boys’ breakout topics

Sweat and odor, shaving basics, beard and haircut maintenance, scalp care, sports and locker-room hygiene, and personal care as a form of responsibility and self-respect.

Breakouts are planned with the school for age, accessibility, and student needs; topic groups need not assume a student’s gender. First impressions focus on cleanliness, preparedness, neat presentation, posture, confidence, and respectful communication—not expensive clothing, conformity, or changing natural features.

Safety and privacy

Student Dignity Is Non-Negotiable

We teach skills without evaluating a student’s body, appearance, or home routine.

Firm boundaries

No touching, examinations, or applying products to students.
No personal questions, public hygiene discussions, or requests to disclose private concerns.
No sexuality discussion, private-area demonstrations, or public cycle questions.
No photography without written school authorization.

Teaching tools

Mannequin heads, props, charts, and ingredient cards.
Scent strips and product containers for label and texture education.
Fictional scenarios and routine-building activities.
Age-appropriate science and self-care instruction.

School staff are present. We follow school policies and address allergy and consent requirements where applicable; family communication is included when the school requires it.

What students experience

Four anchors across the program.

Each element protects privacy, builds reflection, and gives students a concrete way to see their own progress.

The sealed baseline

Week 1 to week 14

Students privately record their routine, whether their choices feel like their own, and one change they want to make. Open prompts provide no suggested answers. The school stores the sealed envelopes. Students open their own notes in week 14. Staff and family do not read them.

The Daily Check

Weeks 10 to 14 · Five checkpoints

Before leaving home, arriving at school, leaving school, getting home, and before bed. Students score their own cards and use a missed-day restart guide. Cards stay private: never collected, graded, read aloud by staff, displayed or made competitive.

The Family Session

Week 13 · Optional

The student chooses a trusted adult rather than being required to bring a parent. Where the session runs, the student leads while the adult follows, making the first Workshop Day product. A teacher, counselor or coach is paired quietly in advance if needed.

The Showcase

Week 14

Students open their own notes, review their own Daily Check records and present their routines. The focus stays on the reasoning behind their choices, never a public rating of personal care. Routine cards and restock lists go home.

School-ready delivery

Plan the details together.

Supervision

A school adult is present for every session. Kerry-Ann is never alone with students.

Consent and safety

Family information, consent where applicable, allergies, and materials are reviewed with the school before hands-on learning.

Private practice

No student is asked to discuss their body, routine, or home in front of the group. Private tools stay private.

School policies

Facilitators teach personal-care skills within the school’s policies. Individual concerns follow the school’s established support process.

Funding options to discuss with your school

Ask your budget team about enrichment, health education, or social-emotional learning and engagement funding. If the optional week 13 Family Session runs, ask the school’s Title I compliance office whether parent and family engagement funds are an appropriate source for that portion of the program.

Eligibility is not guaranteed. The school determines allowable costs and approvals. Using separate funding sources also requires separate accounting and approval processes.

Federal Title I parent and family engagement guidance

Who delivers the program

Led by Kerry-Ann McLaren.

Kerry-Ann McLaren, founder of Kerry Berry, leads and is present at every session. Kerry Berry holds active NYC DOE vendor approval and carries business insurance, with a certificate of insurance available on request. Background clearance documentation is provided to the school before week 1. Any guest instructor is named in advance and clears the same background process.

For grades 9 to 12

Bring Kerry Berry Lab: Ownership to your school.

Start with your school name, grade range, student count, borough, and preferred timeframe.

Discuss a program for your school

Need a smaller first step?

Plan a custom workshop.

Let’s hop on a call to discuss your students, schedule, and budget and shape a workshop that fits your school.

Discuss a custom workshop

Also available

Explore other grade ranges.

Grades 2 to 3Kerry Berry Lab: Foundations Grades 4 to 5Kerry Berry Lab: Changes Grades 6 to 8Kerry Berry Lab: Smart Choices