Lead ‘Em Up Classroom

Create the school you and your students want.

What is  Lead ‘Em Up Classroom?

It is a dynamic leadership and character program utilizing our unique teaching curriculum to engage and excite students into elevating their character and developing as leaders.

Caleb-Parnin

“The way the curriculum engages and connects with today’s students is incredible. It makes teaching it so enjoyable”

Caleb Parnin: North Muskegon High School, North Muskegon, MI

What can Lead ‘Em Up do for your School

Create a Healthier School Climate and Culture

Improve Student Behavior

Enhance Teacher and Student Relationships

Better Attendance Rates

Boost Student Performance

Proven SEL & PBIS Curriculum

Rob-Dinsdale

“The activities, lessons, and language of Lead ‘Em Up have allowed our school to build a culture where our students and staff are excited to contribute as both leaders and followers.”

Rob Dinsdale | Asst. Principal, George Fitton Middle School, Brandon, Manitoba Canada

About the Curriculum

The curriculum has been built by a collection of educators and creatives along with input from students over the past 8-years since we launched in 2015.

The curriculum is built to be interactive, thoughtful, and fun. It is designed to engage and excite students into developing their leadership and character.

The program is designed around 7 core teaching themes. All of the exercises relate to one of the 7 themes and teach your students in a fun and engaging way to develop their skills in the area the theme covers.

M-P-S Filter

Each exercise and teaching concept goes through our M-P-S filter (Memorable, Portable, Sticky) and then is Teacher-Tested and Student-Approved prior to making it into our curriculum.

7 Teaching Themes

  • Vision
  • Accountability
  • Followership
  • Communication
  • Relationships
  • Focus
  • Self-Awareness

Curriculum

Want to see the Curriculum?

Fill out the form below and we will send you our Exercise Guide.

Elizabeth Thomas

“I have seen firsthand how Lead ‘Em Up has transformed our students. It has helped them learn the power of encouragement, setting goals and holding each other accountable.”

Elizabeth Thomas | Principal, Quince Orchard High School, Gaithersburg, MD

Hi Hanna, This is Jef McClimans, Erin Evenhous' new husband. Pete Lauer gave me your number.

Sample Exercise

Try out our Sugar & Salt exercise with your students or fellow teachers to experience Lead ‘Em Up for yourself.

Case Studies

Improving Student Behavior

See how Lead ‘Em Up has helped White River Valley improve student behavior and encourage “positive energy” in their student body.

75 of Freshman Become Green Verified

Enhancing Relationships

See how implementing Lead ‘Em Up Classroom enhanced student-student and student-teacher relationships at an Illinois High School.

How Much Does it Cost?

We have two program levels. the 12 and the 35. The main difference between them is that with the 35 program you get so much more. But depending on what other initiatives your school has the 12 program may be enough.

Single Teacher

Single Teacher Also Includes:

  • 30-min virtual onboarding
  • NEW – Special Day One Launch Plan
  • Single-Class Rollout Kit (25 verified stickers, 25 verified prints, 1 MVG trophy, 1 Lead ‘Em Up Poster)
  • Detailed Pacing Guides
  • Year-long consultation and support

Full School

Full School Also Includes:

  • 60-min virtual onboarding training with your team (hosted in July or August)
  • NEW – Special Day One Launch Plan
  • Full School Rollout Kit (100 verified stickers, 100 verified prints, 200 prints, 200 Lead ‘Em Up stickers, 2 MVG trophies, and 2 Lead ‘Em Up posters)
  • NEW – Custom Recorded Welcome Video (to be played for all students)
  • NEW- Q1 30-minute virtual check-in (held at end of the first quarter)
  • NEW – End of Year Green Verification Training Celebration Virtual Event
  • Detailed Pacing Guides
  • Year-long consultation and support
Nathan-Emrick

“The Lead ‘Em Up Classroom curriculum has transformed our students.”

Nathan Emrick | Teacher, Carterville High School, Carterville, IL

Learn More

Do you have questions or want to get some more information about the Lead ‘Em Up Classroom Curriculum? Contact us below.

When you fill out the form you will get access to:

  • Sugar & Salt Exercise
  • Exercise Guide
  • Classroom Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is the curriculum designed for?

The curriculum is designed for use with middle and high school students (grades 6-12). If you have the desire to incorporate the curriculum at the Collegiate level please email info@leademup.com for special programming options available.

Does the curriculum serve our SEL or PBIS needs?

Absolutely. The curriculum has been uniquely designed to serve your SEL and/or PBIS needs helping advance student performance, enhancing social-emotional skills, and elevating positive behaviors among students.

What’s the difference between the 12 & 35 curriculums?

The 12 Curriculum is designed for teaching 1-2 teaching sessions a week, 30-50 minute teaching blocks with 18-weeks of content. The 12 Curriculum consists of 5 teaching themes (vision, accountability, followership, communication and relationships), 14 Lead ‘Em Up teaching concepts and 4 fun transitional activities.

The 35 curriculum is designed for teaching 3-5 teaching sessions a week, 30-50 minute teaching blocks with 18-weeks of content. The 35 Curriculum consist of 7 teaching themes (vision, accountability, followership, communication, relationships, focus and self-awareness), 22 Lead ‘Em Up teaching concepts and 6 fun transitional activities.

What’s the difference between Single-Teacher and Full-School?

Single Teacher is for a single teacher who wants to teach Lead ‘Em Up (single-user access)

Full School is for schools that will have multiple teachers teaching the program rolling it out beyond a single class (multiple-user access)

Can you tell me more about your curriculum?

The curriculum has been built by a collection of educators and creatives along with input from students over the past 8-years since we launched in 2015.

The curriculum is an interactive, thoughtful, and fun curriculum designed to engage and excite students into developing their leadership and character. We also tap into the intrinsic competitive motivators as each student works to get “Verified”.

We are void of lectures, workbooks, quizzes, and tests, while also discouraging the use of heavy text-filled slides (we do provide you slides but each slide has minimal text simply to spotlight themes)

Each exercise and teaching concept has gone through our M-P-S filter (is it Memorable, is the lesson Portable and are we using language that Sticks to the minds and hearts of our students) and then is Teacher-Tested & Student-Approved prior to making it into our curriculum.

Tell me more about the “Green Team” and what it means to get “Verified”

Our foundational teaching is our Green Team Framework which every student gets introduced to at the beginning of the program. The Framework helps students understand how they need to show up each day and where they help others get to. As the student moves up in the Green Team, they become closer to earning “Verification” status which is voted on periodically by students and approved by teachers.

As one educator in St. Louis said, the Green Team is like a “Leadership Cheat Code” for students, figuring out all the right buttons to push to get kids excited about growing as a leader.

How are most schools using the Lead ‘Em Up Classroom Curriculum?

That’s a great question!

Schools have been successful in rolling it out in a variety of ways. We have schools where a single teacher is teaching in a Leadership class, some teachers are incorporating it into a pre-existing Health class (or Physical Education class – we originated in athletes so there are easy tie-backs to PE), many schools are teaching it in their advisory periods with each teacher learning and teaching the curriculum, some have created it as a Freshman-only class that’s led by a handful of select teachers.

Many options to consider. We just encourage you to find the approach that works best for you and then constantly look for ways to improve as you go through it.

Can I see an example of a teaching exercise?

Absolutely, here is an example of one of our communication teaching exercises: Sugar & Salt.

Why is there a price discount for a 2-year agreement?

One thing we’ve learned during our 3-years of research and development is there are many initiatives rolled out each year, many of which don’t last through the entire school year. As a result, teachers and students may not buy-in as great because they believe it won’t stick.

We understand the power “commitment” can have on the “buy-in” from others, so when schools commit to Lead ‘Em Up for multiple years it communicates to the school this is something we’re going all-in on. We want to incentivize that commitment by providing a deeper discount.

Can I pay via purchase order?

Absolutely. You can pay via purchase order or credit card.

When do I receive access to the 2023/2024 curriculum?

You will receive access on July 1st, 2023. Every year our team collects feedback from the previous year and works to refine and make power updates to the curriculum which will be completed by July. And we’ve got some special updates in the works for the 2023/2024 school year 🙂

Is there someone I can talk to that is currently using the curriculum?

Absolutely. We’ve had many school coordinators offer to share their experiences. Here are a few:

Nathan Emrick – Teacher
Carterville High School
Carterville, IL
Grades 9-12
nemrick@cartervilleschools.org

Shane Oakes – MTSS Coordinator
White River Valley School District
South Royalton, VT
Grades 9-12
soakes@wrvsu.org

Brooke Williams – Asst. Principal
Crocus Plains High School
Brandon, Manitoba, CA
Grades 9-12
williams.brooke@bsd.ca

If you need more references, email us at info@leademup.com and we’d be happy to connect you with additional users.

I always thought Lead ‘Em Up was more sports-focused, is that correct?

Yes, you are correct. We originated working with teams and athletes in 2015. We began working with schools three years ago at the request of coaches across the country.

Coaches are often teachers and each year coaches would ask “Can I please use this curriculum with my students? My students need it and I know they’ll respond to the curriculum the same way my athletes do.” So after many requests, we began making it available.

We conducted a 3-year pilot into schools starting with 4 schools in year one, 12 in year two, and 20 schools in year three. We learned so much about the needs of schools and students and as we enter our 4th year our curriculum is in the best position it’s ever been.