Adolescent youth struggling with mental health challenges and adverse childhood experiences can exhibit disruptive and unwanted behavior in the classroom, making them vulnerable to behavioral consequences such as detention and suspension and contributing to isolation, academic withdrawal, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. Additionally, school consequence structures seldom provide support and feedback regarding how students can change their behavior.

The Build Me Up curriculum incorporates mindfulness, yoga, and meditation, along with psychoeducation and activities designed to teach executive functioning skills such as self-control and self-awareness to adolescent youth ages 13 to 18. This curriculum was designed to take the place of traditional school detention structures in middle schools and high schools and to be facilitated by school social workers and counselors. The curriculum aims to fill the gap in behavioral intervention services in schools by providing students with coping skills to change their behavior, ultimately breaking the school to prison pipeline.