Core Programs — The LEAD School

01 — Project-Based Learning

Students don't just learn — they create, solve, and present.

At LEAD School, learning goes far beyond worksheets and isolated lessons. Each day, students engage in Project-Based Learning (PBL), diving into extended, real-world projects. They investigate meaningful questions, solve authentic community problems, collaborate with peers, and create high-quality products or presentations for real audiences.

Each unit is anchored by a compelling driving question from a real community partner and culminates in a public presentation or product. This approach challenges students to think critically, innovate, design, build, and solve — applying their knowledge in powerful ways rather than simply memorizing facts.

At LEAD, students don't just learn about the world — they learn how to shape it.

What is Project-Based Learning?

Students acquire content knowledge and skills in order to answer a driving question based on an authentic problem, need, challenge, or concern.
Project Based Learning is done collaboratively and within groups, using critical thinking, communication, and creativity.
PBL incorporates student voice and choice, inquiry, and an ongoing process of feedback, revision, and reflection.
Authentic PBL involves a community partner and a publicly presented end product.
Teachers play an active and essential role — providing direct instruction in reading, writing, and math skills, guiding students through each step, asking questions that deepen thinking, and giving ongoing feedback aligned to academic standards.

Examples in Action

Redesign the school playground — students measure space, create plans, and budget materials using math, while learning safety and design in science. They write persuasive proposals and present ideas to school leaders.
Create and run a classroom store — students practice pricing, making change, and tracking profits, while writing advertisements and learning how businesses work.
Disaster preparedness for our community — students tackle "How can we keep our communities safe and prepared for natural hazards?" by producing research-based preparedness guides sent to community leaders in target regions.

Modern students are digital natives who learn best through active, relevant, and collaborative experiences rather than passive memorization. A growing body of rigorous research confirms PBL's effectiveness:

Students in high-quality PBL classrooms significantly outperform peers in traditional settings on state tests, AP exams, and long-term retention. (Lucas Education Research, University of Michigan)
PBL produces measurable gains in academic achievement — especially in science (+8 percentage points on state tests) and social studies (5–6 extra months of learning) — while boosting critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Meta-analyses show PBL leads to stronger engagement, motivation, attendance, and 21st-century skills, with particularly powerful results for diverse, multilingual, and high-poverty students.

In today's rapidly changing world, students need more than content knowledge — they need the ability to adapt, create, and lead in unfamiliar situations. PBL develops exactly those skills.

Project-Based Learning is where LEAD's mission comes to life. It is the perfect vehicle for living our four pillars every day:

Leadership — Students lead their own learning, setting goals, managing timelines, making decisions, and reflecting on their growth as confident, ethical leaders.
Entrepreneurship — Projects require innovation, resourcefulness, budgeting, and iteration — skills students use to design, prototype, and launch real solutions just like entrepreneurs.
Activism — Many PBL units challenge students to identify community issues and take meaningful action, turning learning into advocacy and positive change.
Duty to Community — Projects connect students to community partners who present real challenges. Projects culminate in service — presenting solutions to local partners, mentoring peers, or contributing tangible improvements to our school and neighborhood.

02 — LEAD Class

The heartbeat of the school.

LEAD Class is our signature daily program and the heartbeat of our school's mission. It is intentionally designed to help students develop the four pillars that define a LEAD education: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Activism, and Duty to Community.

Rather than treating these as abstract ideas, the LEAD Class gives students consistent, real-world opportunities to practice the skills and mindsets that future leaders need. Through a carefully sequenced, multi-year curriculum, students move from foundational skills in the early grades to advanced leadership and real-world application by eighth grade.

Four core units, evolving as students grow

📘 Blueprints for Leadership

Students study leaders from diverse backgrounds through fiction and non-fiction. Over time, they move from identifying leadership traits to applying them — ultimately shadowing and learning directly from leaders in their community.

✨ Lead With Polish

Students develop the communication, etiquette, and presence that open doors. From basic social skills in early grades to professional communication, networking, and digital etiquette in middle school.

🚀 Entrepreneur's Playbook

Students learn the full cycle of entrepreneurship — idea generation, market research, design thinking, and pitching. What begins as creativity in the early years evolves into real businesses and community-based ventures.

💰 Money Moves

Students build financial literacy and consumer math — from identifying coins and the difference between needs and wants in kindergarten to creating business plans, budgets, and basic investing in 8th grade.

By 8th grade, students are leading conversations and events, launching and managing businesses, making strategic financial decisions, and applying their learning in authentic, community-based contexts. The LEAD Class is not an "extra." It is the thread that connects everything we do — the class that turns LEAD School students into fearless creators and leaders.

03 — House System

Family within the school.

At the heart of The LEAD School is our House System — the cornerstone of our school culture. It is a vibrant, student-driven community structure designed to build belonging, foster healthy collaborative competition, and create daily opportunities for students to live out the values of Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Activism, and Duty to Community.

Every student and staff member is sorted into one of four multi-age Houses that they will remain in their entire time at LEAD. These houses function as families within the school, where older students mentor younger peers, relationships deepen, and every individual is known, valued, and supported.

Throughout the year, Houses compete in academics, creativity, service projects, sports, and school spirit challenges. Points are earned through positive behavior, academic effort, collaboration, and community impact — turning everyday actions into meaningful contributions.

The Four Houses of LEAD

Leadership

Audax

Latin — Bold & Courageous

"We lead boldly."

Entrepreneurship

Ubunifu

Swahili — Creativity & Innovation

"We imagine. We build. We innovate."

Activism

Amandla

Zulu/Xhosa — Power & Action

"Power to create change."

Duty to Community

Wa

Japanese — Harmony & Community

"We build community. We move as one."

Which House will you rise with?

Unlike traditional house models, LEAD houses are student-built and student-led. Each house develops its own identity by creating a crest, chant, hand gesture, colors, motto, and traditions — fostering ownership, pride, and a strong sense of collective purpose.

Research on belonging consistently shows that students who feel deeply connected to a sub-community within their school have stronger attendance, higher academic engagement, and more positive social-emotional outcomes. The House system creates that belonging on day one and reinforces it daily.

The House System directly supports the four pillars of LEAD:

Leadership — Students rotate through House leadership roles (Captain, Communications Lead, Service Coordinator), learning to organize events, motivate peers, and make decisions.
Entrepreneurship — Each House collaboratively designs its crest, chant, hand gesture, colors, motto, and traditions — a marketing exercise that builds pride, creativity, and deep investment.
Activism — Each House identifies and champions a cause, organizing awareness campaigns, advocacy projects, and action steps that create real change.
Duty to Community — Older students mentor younger House members, students celebrate each other's strong answers with their House hand gesture, and Houses collaborate on service projects. Leadership means lifting others up.

04 — Adventure Play

Play is not a break from learning. It is learning.

Typical Colorado students are given 30 minutes of physical play per day. At LEAD, we believe students should have unstructured play outdoors more often. So we give our students a minimum of 1 hour outdoor play per day — and often even more.

Students have free play at the start of the school day and multiple times during the learning day. In addition, every class has a dedicated outdoor classroom space whose use is encouraged year-round.

Imagine students gathering sticks and rocks to engineer their own version of the Titanic — debating hull design and balance while negotiating roles in their crew. Or picture a group brainstorming and building a tree swing, carefully calculating rope strength, branch height, and launch angles before the first thrilling test ride. These moments aren't just "play" — they are powerful, research-backed opportunities for growth.

Play that is as risky as it needs to be.

Our Adventure Play philosophy provides students with regular, outdoor, minimally structured time to explore, create, and test their limits in nature.

Students gathered in an outdoor classroom — Outdoor Classroom

Students participating in Morning Meeting — Morning Meeting

What We Believe About Play

Unstructured free play IS learning.
Recess should never be removed as a punishment.
Play should be minimally structured — adults should only interfere when absolutely necessary.
Play spaces should not dictate how they are used. Traditional metal/plastic equipment is replaced with natural materials — logs, boulders, sand, and water — to promote imaginative, sensory-rich play.
Play should be a little risky to allow students a healthy way to test their limits.

Child development research consistently shows that risky, outdoor, minimally structured play delivers benefits that structured classroom or indoor activities simply cannot match:

Builds resilience, self-confidence, and emotional regulation by giving children safe opportunities to face and master manageable fears and challenges (the "anti-phobic" effect).
Enhances executive function, creativity, problem-solving, and social skills through independent decision-making, collaboration, and real-time negotiation. Peter Gray's extensive research highlights how unstructured time strengthens executive functioning and social-emotional intelligence — skills linked to long-term academic success and mental health.
Supports better physical health, motor skills, and overall mental well-being, with increased physical activity and lower anxiety levels in elementary-aged children.

Our mission requires more than academic knowledge. It requires confidence, resilience, creativity, and the ability to make decisions in real time. Adventure Play is where those qualities are built.

In outdoor, minimally structured environments, students are free to explore, build, and take on challenges that are as risky as they need to be. Whether they are engineering a structure from natural materials, testing the limits of a design, or navigating social dynamics with peers, students are constantly making decisions, solving problems, and learning from the outcomes.

Courageous Creativity — Students take risks, experiment, and turn ideas into reality.
Grit — They persist through setbacks, adapt, and try again.
Reflective Ownership — They assess their choices and risks, learn from mistakes, and take responsibility for their growth.
Persuasive Communication — They collaborate, negotiate, and express ideas with clarity.
Visionary Problem Solving — They identify challenges and create solutions using the resources around them.

Students don't become capable by being protected from challenge — they become capable by engaging with it.

05 — Restorative Practices

We don't punish behavior. We grow responsible people.

At The LEAD School, we believe discipline should be about learning and growth — not just punishment. By using the approach of restorative justice, we ensure that discipline is rooted in accountability, growth, and restoring a strong, respectful school community.

Through our approach, students learn to take responsibility for their actions, understand the impact of their choices, and actively repair harm. Instead of simply removing students from learning, we guide them through structured conversations and reflection so they can learn from mistakes and re-enter the community stronger.

What are Restorative Practices?

Restorative Justice focuses on repairing the harm caused by actions, understanding the root causes, and restoring relationships. Instead of asking only "What rule was broken and what is the punishment?", we also ask: "Who was harmed? What can you take responsibility for? What can the person who caused harm do to repair the damage and grow?"
This approach holds students accountable while teaching empathy, responsibility, and problem-solving skills that last a lifetime.
Students are still held fully accountable. Restorative Justice does not mean "no consequences." It means consequences are meaningful, logical, and focused on learning and repair.

Restorative Practices in Action

If a student damages school property, instead of (or in addition to) a consequence, they participate in a restorative circle to understand the impact on the community, then help repair or improve the space.
After a conflict between students, they meet (with a trained facilitator) to share how they felt, listen to each other, and co-create an agreement on how to move forward with respect.
Students who repeatedly struggle with behavior work with mentors to identify triggers and develop personal leadership plans — turning mistakes into opportunities for growth.

Research shows that restorative practices can improve school climate, support positive behavior, and reduce suspensions and other disciplinary referrals, while also helping students develop empathy, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills. In elementary settings, these practices are especially helpful because young children learn best through guided conversations, consistent routines, and caring adult support.

In Pittsburgh Public Schools that used restorative approaches, suspension rates dropped 36% and teachers' perceptions of school climate improved — with the strongest benefits observed in elementary grades.

Significant reductions in suspensions and discipline gaps — Restorative practices lead to meaningfully lower suspension rates in elementary schools and help narrow racial and socioeconomic disparities in discipline.
Improved school climate and relationships — Teachers report stronger student-teacher connections, greater feelings of safety, and a more positive overall school environment.
Enhanced social-emotional skills and engagement — Students develop empathy, conflict-resolution abilities, and accountability, resulting in fewer behavioral incidents and greater belonging.

Restorative practices are not separate from our mission — they are how we live it.

Integrity — Students take responsibility and do the right thing, even when it's uncomfortable.
Reflective Ownership — Students examine their actions honestly and stay open to feedback.
Persuasive Communication — Students have real opportunities to listen deeply, speak with clarity, and use their voice to repair relationships and influence outcomes.
Grit — Students build grit when asked to face mistakes, take responsibility, and grow stronger through reflection and repair.

Together, we don't just manage behavior — we grow better humans and future leaders.

06 — Morning Meeting

Every day begins with connection.

Morning meeting sets the social, emotional, and instructional tone for the entire day through four distinct sections: greeting, sharing, activity, and morning message/calendar.

Students use active listening, paraphrasing, and respectful turn-taking skills in a low-stakes environment to build their communication powers. They learn to share ideas, feelings, and perspectives in a structured, supportive space. Daily reflection questions and SEL activities help students examine their thinking, behavior, and emotions to increase their self-awareness and support their growth.

Teachers and staff develop stronger relationships with students and the classroom community, which reduces behavioral disturbances. They also model vulnerability — supporting their own personal reflection and growth journeys.

What It Might Look Like

Greeting — Students have 2 minutes to walk to as many classmates as possible, make eye contact, and say "Konichiwa, [name]" — or use another language.
Sharing — The teacher asks: "If you could change one thing about your bedroom, what would it be?" Students take turns sharing in small groups.
Activity — Different student volunteers lead the class in a quick "follow the leader" game.
Morning Message — Today's activities are written on the board but riddled with errors — students need to find and correct them all.

Research shows that this simple practice yields meaningful benefits in elementary settings by improving behavior, relationships, and academic readiness:

Morning Meetings significantly improve students' sense of belonging, teacher-student connections, and peer relationships — creating a more caring and inclusive environment.
Regular implementation leads to better behavior, fewer disruptions, and a decrease in bullying or conflict as students practice empathy, listening, and respectful communication daily.
Morning Meetings increase student engagement, motivation, and readiness to learn. Studies from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) show that students participating in Morning Meeting demonstrate an average 11 percentile-point gain in academic performance (Durlak et al., 2011).

Morning Meeting is where LEAD's mission comes to life at the start of every day. As students gather to connect, reflect, and communicate, they are building the mindset and skills needed to lead boldly and create opportunities.

Persuasive Communication — Students listen deeply, share ideas clearly, and learn to understand others before being understood.
Reflective Ownership — Students reflect on their actions, set goals, and take responsibility for their growth.
Integrity — Students practice honesty, respect, and doing what's right within a community.
Collaborative Competition — Students build trust, support one another, and strengthen their sense of belonging.
Grit — Students develop the habits and mindset needed to approach each day with focus and perseverance.

By intentionally creating space for connection and reflection, Morning Meeting may seem fun, but is intentionally designed to help students build the confidence, relationships, and self-awareness necessary to succeed not just academically, but as leaders in an ever-changing world.

07 — Multi-Age Classrooms

"What am I working on?" — not "What grade am I in?"

In elementary school, students will be with the same teacher over a two-year time span (K–1, 2–3, 4–5). This model presents advantages both to students' academic and social learning skills.

Older students develop leadership skills as they mentor and model for younger students. Advanced students are challenged by their peers, not limited by grade level, and gain valuable reinforcement by peer teaching to others. The natural collaboration across age and ability levels drives each student toward personal improvement.

By constantly seeing other students at different stages of learning, the comparison shifts from "What grade am I in?" to "What am I working on?" — which in turn reduces the shame around not knowing something yet and increases student teachability.

Teachers normally spend a great deal of time each year understanding their students' needs. By keeping the same students for two years, this time is greatly reduced and can be allocated to increased learning. Teachers develop deeper understanding of each student's strengths and growth areas, and gain a built-in collaboration partner for improved planning.

Research on multi-age classrooms at the elementary level consistently shows they are a strong, viable alternative to traditional single-grade setups:

Academic outcomes are comparable — Students in well-implemented multi-age classrooms perform academically at similar levels to those in single-grade classrooms, with no significant disadvantages and occasional gains in areas like language and problem-solving.
Stronger social-emotional development — Multi-age settings promote greater empathy, collaboration, self-esteem, leadership skills, and prosocial behavior as older students mentor younger ones and all learn to navigate diverse perspectives.
Enhanced sense of community and engagement — Students often show more positive attitudes toward school, reduced competition, and a greater sense of belonging in mixed-age environments.

Multi-age classrooms create the conditions where LEAD's pillars and values can come alive every day:

Leadership — Older students naturally mentor younger ones, practicing leadership in low-stakes, daily moments.
Duty to Community — Students learn early that their classroom is a community they belong to and contribute to — not just a place they pass through for a year.
Continuous Learning — When the comparison shifts from grade level to personal progress, curiosity replaces compliance and growth becomes the goal.
Reflective Ownership — Students take ownership of their own pace and progress rather than coasting on grade-level expectations.

How LEAD comes to life — every day.

Students don't just learn — they create, solve, and present.

What is Project-Based Learning?

Examples in Action

The heartbeat of the school.

Four core units, evolving as students grow

📘 Blueprints for Leadership

✨ Lead With Polish

🚀 Entrepreneur's Playbook

💰 Money Moves

Family within the school.

The Four Houses of LEAD

Audax

Ubunifu

Amandla

Wa

Play is not a break from learning. It is learning.

What We Believe About Play

We don't punish behavior. We grow responsible people.

What are Restorative Practices?

Restorative Practices in Action

Every day begins with connection.

What It Might Look Like

"What am I working on?" — not "What grade am I in?"

Six programs. One bold model. Built for your child.