Leading Together
About the Project
This was a two year study of an intervention, Leading Together. Leading Together is designed to enhance collaboration, listening, and mindfulness among the adults who work in schools—principals, teachers, specialists, and other staff.
The intervention workshops bring principals and teachers together from various elementary and middle schools to learn strategies and protocols for building and strengthening the adult community. If fully-implemented, we expect that engagement in these activities will improve school working conditions and sense of community, thus helping adults be more capable of meeting the diverse academic and social needs of children and youth.
The Development
Pamela Seigle and Chip Wood, both developers of well-known social and emotional learning interventions (Open Circle, Responsive Classroom Approach), created Leading Together based upon work by Parker Palmer, Seigle and Wood’s extensive experience in schools and training in mindfulness-based stress reduction practices.
The Research
The SDL research team was engaged in research on Leading Together to support the development of the intervention itself and to identify early signs of efficacy. This pilot work was sponsored by the Center for Courage & Renewal Northeast and the UVA Contemplative Sciences Center.
Click here to read more about this research and here to read the final report.