The Toolbox Project, developed through Berkley Public Schools in California, is a curriculum aimed at promoting critical social competencies essential for success in school and life. Toolbox teaches resiliency, self-management, and skills for responsible decision making in elementary school students. Teachers are used as supports in this process by providing instruction, modeling, and guiding students towards building self-knowledge and self-trust. Intended for grades K-6, the Toolbox Project aims to help children with managing their own emotional, social, and academic success using tools for empowerment.

Tapping into twelve human capacities (or “tools”) that reside within us provides a metaphor for developing one’s own inner resilience across contexts. Examples of such tools include the breathing tool, empathy tool, listening tool, courage tool, etc. The Toolbox curriculum has been successfully piloted by schools which points to evidence showing its potentially positive impacts in the lives of students, and has since been adopted by the Berkeley Unified School District.