Our Approach
To Change

Our Story

Linda Lantieri, Daniel Rechtschaffen, and Meena Srinivasan co-founded TEL in 2018. Over a decade prior, these SEL and Mindfulness leaders collaborated on projects and often shared their personal and collaborative work at the annual Mindfulness in Education conference at the Omega Institute. 

Linda led the Inner Resilience Program which was founded after the events of 9-11, integrating Mindfulness and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into K-12 education. Meena was with the Oakland Unified School District where she was implementing SEL in partnership with the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and prior to this work had published a book on bringing mindfulness into the classroom and was working on a book on integrating SEL with instruction in secondary classrooms. Daniel authored two books on Mindfulness in K-12 education and has shared its content and strategies with schools throughout the world.

It became clear that they were being called forward to create a “Beloved Community” among educational leaders. Their goal was to bring together a racially and culturally diverse group of educational leaders and equip them with resources and strategies to transform themselves and their school communities. The goal was to use their leadership positions to affect systemic transformation starting from the inside out.

What is TEL?

Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) is a year-long Fellowship that brings together a diverse group of educational leaders to create transformative change in the communities they serve so that all adults and children can belong and thrive. 

Who are the Leaders Who Join TEL?

The educational leaders who become TEL Fellows hold diverse school leadership roles, including School District Leaders, Principals, Equity Specialists, SEL and school based mental health professionals. TEL Fellows also come from a variety of educational settings: public, private, non-profit, and from various size schools or districts in urban, rural and suburban communities in the US and around the globe. The educational leaders who join TEL all recognize that professional development is not enough; and that what is needed is a paradigm shift toward ways of being that can create communities of love, belonging, interconnection, and collective flourishing. 

Leadership Challenges: Why is TEL Needed?

Educational Leader Wellbeing

Since its inception, TEL has been filling a gap in leadership training for transformation of self and K12 systems. Our theory of change asserts that deep inner changes to attitudes, beliefs, and thinking, are necessary to lead to positive changes in actions and behaviors, which in turn enable leaders to drive wider organizational and systems changes.

There are resources out there to support the wellbeing of students in schools, but there are few resources to support school leaders, and especially our leaders of color. School leaders set the tone for the entire school community, yet they rarely receive the support they need to lead for the wellbeing of the entire school community.

Young people can flourish when they have warm and caring relationships, a strong sense of who they are and are able to engage fully in life. Research shows that that’s more likely to happen when they are surrounded by adults who are thriving mentally, socially and emotionally, and who come from the communities they are serving. 

Deep Equity

Our school leaders face systemic challenges driven by deep racial, social, economic and ecological inequities that impact our communities of color the most. The achievement gap and the ongoing mental health crisis have increased dramatically for students of color. During and even since the Covid-19 pandemic, Superintendent, Principal, and teacher turnover has continued to increase, and more so for Principals of Color. Nearly half of Principals of Color cite experiences of racial discrimination as adding to their stress and reasons for leaving.

Educational Leadership Development

Today’s education leaders need a complex set of skills to lead diverse K-12 systems. Transforming schools into equitable, healthy, connected, and thriving learning communities for all children takes change in school leadership that comes from within. 

The majority of our nation’s school leaders are White and, even prior to the traumatic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, most did not feel their professional training prepared them to meet the needs of students of color. 

We Need Diverse Educational Leaders: 

• With deep understanding of their own minds and hearts; 

• Who embody the social and emotional skills they cultivate in others; 

• Who heal and foster collective healing; 

• Who lead collaboratively and with compassion;

• Who boldly cultivate just and equitable communities.

Community of Practice and Belonging

Educational leaders who are seeking to drive change are often outliers without an on-going community to experience healing and support for their change practices. TEL’s yearlong Fellowship offers school leaders the support of a beloved community of practice and belonging that is needed to meet this crucible moment for our schools and communities. 

Transformative Outcomes

Systems change experts argue that outer systems change is made possible only by inner shifts in consciousness reflecting changes in ways of thinking and being. Educational leaders can be better positioned to face the uncertainties of these complex times and transform school systems into equitable, thriving learning communities by making key inner shifts and adopting practices that promote connection, belonging, and wellbeing. Educational leaders who join TEL will experience shifts in their ways of being and develop increased capacities for creating transformative change in the communities they serve.