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Rekindle your enthusiasm & purpose for teaching. Develop socially and emotionally intelligent leaders in your classroom & school.
Let's START today.
What is START?
START Leadership’s research-based leadership framework provides educators with strategies, tactics, and tools to master their leadership mindset and skills and to equip their students with the everyday life and leadership skills they need to attain their full potential, map their path with purpose, and lead well in their own lives.
Our simple yet powerful tools create a shared experience and practice between teachers and students that removes barriers, strengthens trust, and inspires personal growth — leading to better performance in the classroom and purposeful engagement with the world around them.
START integrates these classroom initiatives in a single, experiential model, minimizing initiative fatigue:
Social & Emotional Learning
Project Based Learning
Growth Mindset
Design Thinking
Classroom Management
Why START?
Our tools represent the synthesis of research in academics, leadership, and child development. Combining foundational elements of design thinking, growth mindset, project-based learning, and social & emotional learning into a unified approach, START’s Program for Educators maximizes students’ agency and engagement while minimizing educators’ initiative fatigue.
Tool 1:
The W.I.N. Map
Discover your “why” with START’s W.I.N. Map: a self-assessment tool for you and your students that encourages exploration of individual interests, inspiring and connecting each of us to one another and to the needs of our world.
Tool 2:
The S.T.A.R.T. Process
Build your “how” with the START Leadership Process: a tool articulating the sequential steps necessary to take the lead in daily work, on projects, and in the classroom by connecting your and your students’ strategic goals with tactical actions.
"In introducing START's Leadership framework and tools to my school’s faculty, students, and parents, we saw the impact START made on developing essential leadership skills in students while building social and emotional capacity and connection.
In addition, START served to unite our parents, teachers, and students with a common leadership language, process, and practice, aligned by the shared vision of equipping students with the mindset and skill set they need to thrive and prosper in a highly competitive, rapidly changing world.
As a result, we experienced a positive, productive, and measurable shift in the engagement and well-being of all the members of our school community – in the classroom, at school, and at home – that has endured.
Case Study: Elementary School Administrator
How does START work?
START’s professional development courses begin by investing first in what teachers need to connect and engage with the work, and then provides the tools teachers need to effectively introduce the W.I.N. Map and START Leadership Process to their students.
"One of the things I find most valuable about START, the thing that sets your professional development resources apart from all the others, is that you start with the teacher. You invest first in what they need to engage with a sense of purpose and to feel connected to their work. Then you provide the strategic and tactical tools that support us in landing this work with our students. START's Leadership Approach to Social and Emotional Learning has made a big difference for me."
Jason Lebar: Conley Elementary, Algonquin Illinois
How do I START?
START with You: START's professional development tools and resources are designed to be used in three ways:
Option 1:
Teacher Leadership Kit
To start, you can use the independent study approach supported by the Teacher Leadership Kit. The kit provides the handbook and professional workbook you need to get started and the student workbook and W.I.N. journal to get your students started.
Click to learn more about Leadership Kits.
Option 2:
Professional Development
If you’re someone who benefits from the structure, support, and encouragement that training provides, you can participate in our SEL and Leadership Development Training Course for educators. You’ll participate with teachers from around the world in a structured, online course to first master your leadership mindset and skill set, and then introduce it effectively to your students. The course is often reimbursable through your school, and provides 32 hours of professional development contact hours.
Contact START for information on upcoming professional development courses.
Option 3:
Become a START School
The benefits of the START Program are multiplied when it is reinforced beyond your classroom. We can work with you to introduce the value of START to your administrators and collaborate in the design of a customized training for the teachers, students, and parents in your community.
Contact START for information on school wide professional development and implementation.
"I introduced the WIN Map to my class for the first time this year, and the impact was transformational - for them and for me. Having the opportunity to discover how they’re Wired and to describe and experience how they can contribute to make a difference has fostered deep connection to themselves, to one another, and to me. This process and experience is changing my students’ lives in powerful ways."
Case Study: High School Teacher
Let's START Now
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