Resilience Through Understanding® (RTU) Program
RTU is an educational program where middle and high school-aged youth learn about the health risks of substance use and get access to fun, healthy activities.
Through RTU, youth are offered real-world incentives to remain substance-free. The Collaborative provides RTU program participants with season passes to local parks and recreational centers of their choosing, including Stratton Mountain Resort, Stratton Mountain Bike Park, Riley Rink Ice Skating, Viking Nordic Center, Magic Mountain, Dorset Theatre Festival, Riley Rink Disc Golf, and Dorset Players. Thanks to these organizations’ generous commitment, combined with oversight from The Collaborative, the RTU program maintains 400+ youth participants from 10 local schools.
RTU currently reaches students from Arlington Memorial High School, Burr and Burton Academy, The Dorset School, Flood Brook School, Leland & Gray, Long Trail School, Maple Street School, Manchester Elementary and Middle School, new partner Stratton Mountain School, The Mountain School at Winhall, and the homeschool community.
Fall/Winter Program Info
Fall/Winter Program Portal
In this Program Portal, you will find details about registration, payment, events, RTU Representative contact information, and links to all required surveys. This Fall/Winter Program Portal will always be accessible through this Resilience Through Understanding page on The Collaborative’s website.
Fall/Winter Registration
Registration for the 2024-2025 Fall/Winter season opens Thursday, August 15th. There is a $35 registration fee for Leland & Gray students and a $50 registration fee for all other participants. Email [email protected] for questions about or help with registration.
Fall/Winter Payment
You can pay for your Fall/Winter RTU registration fees by mailing a check, via Venmo, or by paying with a credit or debit card. For complete payment instructions, access the Program Info page through the Fall/Winter Program Portal or visit the Program Payment page on The Collaborative's website.
Spring/Summer Program Info
Spring/Summer Program Portal
In this virtual Program Portal for the Spring/Summer season, you will find details about registration, payment, events, RTU Representative contact information, and links to all required surveys. This Spring/Summer Program Portal will always be accessible through this Resiliece Through Understanding page on The Collaborative’s website.
Spring/Summer Registration
Registration opens on April 15, 2024 at 5PM. There is a $30 registration fee for the Riley Rink Disk Golf pass and a $40 registration fee for the Stratton Mountain Biking pass. Registration forms and fee payments must be received by May 31, 2024 to earn the incentive on time. Email [email protected] for questions about or help with registration.
Spring/Summer Payment
You can pay for your Spring/Summer RTU registration fees by check, via Venmo, or by paying with a credit or debit card. For complete payment instructions, access the Program Info page through the virtual Spring/Summer Program Portal or by visiting the Program Payment page on The Collaborative's website. Registration fee payments must be received by May 31, 2024 to avoid fee increases.
RTU Events Calendar
RTU Senior Scholarship
The RTU Senior Scholarship award is for $1,500.00 to go toward post-secondary educational pursuits. Eligible applicants include any current Refuse To Use senior who is in good standing with the program. Good standing means that student work is up to date, of a good standard, and that the student has adhered to all requirements as outlined by the Refuse To Use policies, rules, and regulations. If you would like more information about the RTU Senior Scholarship, email [email protected].
The Senior Scholarship application window for the current year is closed! Check back in the Spring of 2025 for next year's application information.
RTU Senior Scholarship Winner
Congratulations to Weston resident and recent Burr and Burton graduate Lily LaRue, our 2024-2025 RTU Senior Scholarship recipient. LaRue plans to use the $1,500 award to explore post-secondary studies in sustainability and architectural design, fields that align with her desire to have a positive impact on the planet.
Good luck with your future endeavors, Lily!
RTU Rep of the Year
Michelle Emery, Arlington Memorial High School
Michelle is one of our longest serving reps, working with BBA International students until this past season and contributing to their demonstrating exemplary commitment to completing the program. Reflecting on her experience, she comments, "It's been 16 years of fun so far, RTU is such an important program, I'm happy to help keep it going."
RTU Rep of the Year
Cliff DesMarais, Flood Brook School
Cliff has consistently redefined the limits of what's possible in RTU events, creating engaging moments for his cohort at Flood Brook School. His thoughts on the program? “The best thing about doing RTU is working with young people to discover their passions. Talking about the things that keep us healthy, recognizing and building external and internal assets to strengthen ourselves and our communities.”
Incentive Partner Profiles
Stratton Mountain Resort has been part of RTU from the very beginning, when a marketing executive from the mountain's leadership team approached The Collaborative with the idea of an incentive-based substance misuse prevention program back in 2003. Since then, they have continued to support our programming with additional incentives, including season passes to their ski resort (no blackout dates!), mountain bike park, and rock climbing gym.
Since 2015, Magic Mountain has offered a similar incentive to the one originally provided by Stratton Mountain: a season ski pass with no blackout dates. The Collaborative is grateful for the opportunity to offer passes to two different mountains with two different feels.
In 2006, Viking Nordic Center began the process of branching out our RTU incentives beyond downhill skiing. They offer unlimited use of their cross-country skiing and snowshoeing facility for the duration of their operating season.
Not only has the Northshire Civic Center been a dedicated incentive partner since 2006, their Riley Rink is also the venue for our annual Kickoff event! Fall/Winter participants may earn a season pass to the skating rink, while Spring/Summer participants may instead pursue unlimited use of their Disc Golf course.
In 2009, Dorset Theatre Festival began a unique model for incentive partnership: Participants who complete all five Fall/Winter events earn four tickets to each of their performances at the historic Dorset Playhouse.
New in 2024, the Dorset Players offer two free tickets to each of their performances as a "pass" alongside other Fall/Winter program incentives. The Collaborative extends a heartfelt welcome to its newest partner!
Program Portal Archive
Got RTU Questions?
Email [email protected] for help!
Want to bring RTU to your community?
Check back soon to find out about how you can obtain a license to implement our program anywhere.