Taking the Toolkit Further: New Resources to Support Educator Growth and Thrivership

Over the last few months, the Elevate Teaching team worked on the creation of NEW resources to help leaders facilitate conversations and inspire current educators by taking the Elevate Teaching Toolkit deeper, at no cost. The collection of resources includes human-centered lesson plans that foster reflection, dialogue, and both personal and professional growth. Each lesson offers facilitators background context, step-by-step activities, and ready-to-use handouts, along with additional resources to extend learning. We hope these FREE resources will foster an environment for connections, allow for resource sharing, and support teachers to grow and thrive as confident educators. 

For example, one of the activities (Teaching is Community Building) focuses on the school community as an ecosystem. It encourages educators to revisit their core values and examine their role in the ecosystem using Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Map. Another activity (Teaching is Legacy) invites educators to practice habits of resilience, such as connecting with their power or agency, to recognize and live into their legacy.

Designed for use in events hosted by Elevate Teaching, school staff meetings, teacher professional development, PLCs, teacher coaching, or other appropriate engagements with educators, the various activities are meant to support educators in deepening their practice while strengthening the collective impact of the profession. 

Grounded in the belief that educators flourish in affirming, connected environments, we aim to shift how teaching is understood and experienced—highlighting it as creative, collaborative, evolving, and deeply rooted in community, opportunity, and legacy. These materials were created by educators, with the needs of current educators in mind. 

Before the resources are made available to the full public, we want to do our due diligence in making them the best they can be. We are currently looking for champions who are interested in piloting these resources this fall, and we’d love your help! If you are 

a school leader/administrator or nonprofit leader working with educators, and you are interested in facilitating the activities with your team, please reach out to Mel Andersen (mel@amazeworks.org). Similarly, if you are an educator interested in participating in the activities facilitated by an Elevate Teaching team member, please let us know! And lastly, please support the movement by passing this opportunity along to others in your network.