schools & educators

Q: How can I bring council to my school or institution?

We offer a range of dedicated programs for schools and educators, faculty staff and youth and we're also able to offer customized programs to address a variety of topics. Download more details about our school and educator programs here . Please contact our team for more information about setting up a council training program.

Our council-based programs support professionals across the spectrum of the educational system and foster more cohesive and compassionate school communities.

healthier school culture

Beyond Us & Them provides an evidence-based resource that can be integrated into any educational environment to achieve a high-impact, sustainable shift toward a more cooperative, creative, and engaged learning environment.

Our council-led programs enhance communication and strengthen connections between colleagues, supporting more resilient, creative, and cohesive teams.

Embedding council in your school culture can help

transform relationships
enhance teambuilding
mitigate work stressors
foster a sense of inclusion
support health and wellbeing

youth group sat in council circle as part of beyond us and them's schools and edcuators program

creating connection through compassion

Beyond Us & Them's programs in California schools and organizations have had a profound and transformative impact. Our program outcomes include:

school communities become more cohesive and compassionate
stakeholders engage more deeply
staff develop a greater sense of connection
students feel seen and valued

council practice can be integrated into staff development, classroom work, student leadership activities, and accountability processes.

programs for educators

From immersive workshops and retreats to extended coaching, we provide a wide range of services to support healthy, compassionate, and motivated school culture. Participants report experiencing a positive change in how they connect with colleagues, friends and loved ones, as well as with students.

School staff describe a reduction in work-related stressors, more engagement and comfort in expressing themselves, and a better understanding of those around them.

Beyond us and them-educators and faculty_standing-circle3_orig

Beyond Us and Them - School spiral-council_orig

wellbeing programs for youth

Our team of Council Trainers represents decades of experience working in education, early childhood development, and child and family therapeutic practice.

Our council programs support children in educational settings, ranging from elementary schools through university settings, and we continue to encourage the inclusion and engagement of youth in Community Council Circles, in our work with educators, with system-impacted youth and families, and beyond.

real life stories

“A much-needed experience that was very bonding for our staff. I appreciate the work you do and the compassion and skills of our facilitators”

High School Teacher

"Council is a time where you can learn other peoples' feelings and share your feelings too. Council is where people get ideas. Council is a place for everyone. It means peace to me. I respect the teachers that let us have council".

Fourth Grade Student

"Amazing experiential learning... it was both personally and professionally fulfilling. I can see how council and the four intentions can be applied to so many areas of life".

University Professor

"Council to me is great and magical. It reminds me of all the things people do to make the world a better place, and helps you want to be a hero as well. Council is a great place to say thank you for everything. Everyone does something to help you feel happy, and all the happiness is kept in council."

Fifth Grade Student

"expectations were exceeded. I appreciated our trainers most of all. They created a space for me to be open, honest and vulnerable, which is not a place I go to very often, if at all".

Middle School Teacher

“Prior to embracing Council, we were stricter and more punitive in nature. Students suggested in their surveys that staff did not listen to them. So, you and your team are setting us on the path to building strong school communities. We are already seeing such great success in our schools by prioritizing Council.”

Administrator, Fortune School

What is Council?

Sometimes called Listening Circles, council is a practice derived from a number of different traditions that involves bringing individuals together in a circle, with intentional facilitation, for a candid and heartfelt conversation. Within the circle, participants are offered the opportunity to talk one-at-a-time, speaking from personal experience rather than opinion.

Participants are encouraged to speak authentically, and to listen deeply, without comment or judgment.

Find out more here.

Why council for schools & educators?

Perhaps more than any other sector, education was dramatically impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. This unprecedented health and social crisis had an enormous impact on students as well as educators and created high levels of stress and demand on administrators and faculty alike. The entire education system was rocked by this worldwide health crisis and is still recovering, while school faculty and staff remain under-resourced and stretched beyond their limits.

One of the critical lessons of that period involves how we understand and nourish school culture - amongst educational professionals, as well as youth, families and the greater school community. Connection and culture are critical elements that must be nourished for positive educational outcomes and council practice is a powerful and adaptable skill for building school culture.

What are the benefits for youth?

Through participating in council, youth feel seen and valued, leading to a more meaningful educational experience that promotes equity and opportunity, teachers and other staff develop a greater sense of connection, and community stakeholders engage more deeply.

Council can also help students develop their voice, strengthens speaking and listening skills and their sense of story, which is fundamental to literacy.

How can I bring council to my school or institution?

Council not only increases campus well-being, but also provides a dynamic platform for the development of creative school curricula, instructional strategies, support services and Restorative Justice practices.

faculty and staff training programs

We offer a range of options for educators from facilitated council sessions and council training to a 6-month wellness and resiliency skills program. We also offer fully customized programs to address a variety of topic areas, including:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Culturally Based Communication
Community Engagement & Outreach
Change Management
Conflict Exploration
Unpacking Values and Bias
Restorative Practices

Additional units that address integrating council into the classroom are also available. Topics are developed and integrated as a supplement to basic training in council practice and can be customized to meet the needs of unique environments and groups of participants.

help us expand our work in schools & education

We rely on the kind generosity of people like you to fund our transformative work. Help us expand our programming in schools by donating today.

Click below to find out more about supporting our work through one-off gifts, or become a regular supporter and gain unlimited access to our social connection councils.

support our work

case study

building character & nourishing school culture

fortune school of education

Read about our unique partnership to support social-emotional learning, enhance character-building and improve school culture with Fortune School of Education, a system of tuition-free, college preparatory public charter schools.

find out more