The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute( gcLi) began more than twenty years ago with the mission of educating teachers to teach leadership to students. That mission is as relevant and critical today as it was then and the gcLi continues to find ways to support that goal. To further that mission, we are joining the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education( CSEE), a non-religious, long-standing non-profit offering wonderful programming to educators. The gcLi will function as a division of CSEE, allowing the gcLi to further our mission, reaching an even broader audience and supporting independent school teachers as they develop the next generation of leaders.
The gcLi will continue to deliver the Leadership Lab, June 2026 being the 22nd offering. We know, through annual research, the powerful impact of the Leadership Lab for our participants and how well prepared they are to teach leadership. CSEE will provide a wealth of wonderful supports, aiding in outreach, registration, and communication. The gcLi and CSEE will work to make the Leadership Lab experience accessible to schools and teachers, recognizing the challenges schools have finding resources to support meaningful professional development.
Leadership development remains an essential skill for all students, preparing them for critical contributions to society in adulthood. The gcLi Pedagogy of Leadership ® provides teachers with skills, tactics, and insight essential for developing student leaders and the gcLi Leadership Lab is unique in supporting teachers to do this important work. The exceptional Leadership Lab faculty helps teachers create experiences for engaging with students in ways central to expanding students’ abilities to aid groups in achieving their goals. They model the practices, skills, and concepts central to teachers’ work teaching leadership in their schools. This is challenging and often messy work and the gcLi helps teachers develop the capacity to help students create and engage in practices, navigate failure, and support peers in ways so central to being successful people and leaders.
At the end of each Leadership Lab, we gather data from our participants about their experience. Without fail, participants note that the gcLi Leadership Lab is the most seminal professional development experience of their career. We are excited about this partnership with CSEE and look forward to helping teachers teach leadership.
All the best,
Jeremy LaCasse Executive Director The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute