What age groups can form a SLED chapter?
We normally work with middle and high schools, but we have a pilot program for the elementary level as well. Contact our team to learn more!
What sets SLED apart from other national leadership chapters?
SLED measures success based on impact, not mock interview performance, and we incentivize our chapters accordingly:
We provide ongong motivation throughout the year with a
micro-credentialing system that provides small wins for students to rank up and be rewarded throughout the year in proportion to the impact they create, coupled with monthly
escape experiences to maintain chapter engagement and development.
In addition, we host
regional conferences that test students' problem solving skills by addressing real challenges facing their community instead of testing their ability to memorize information or role play a business scenario.
To make our
national competition available to all chapters, not just those who could create the funding and schedule availability to travel, we made it a virtual video submission, with our team traveling to the national champion's school to throw a party.
Finally, we offer
advisor training experiences free of charge because we believe that if we effectively equip advisors, they will effectively empower students to create impactful change.
Other national leadership organizations - such as DECA and FBLA - put on fantastic end of year live events, where students travel from all over the country to network and demonstrate their interpersonal and information recall abilities. This culminating event serves as the main source of motivation and direction for the chapter throughout the year.
While that model isn't a bad one, and clearly works, we intentionally created SLED differently.
What is the cost?
We keep cost simple and clear.
A 1-year membership costs $5,000 per SLED chapter (we recommend one SLED chapter per school) and includes all our SLED resources, trainings, and events described
here.
Investing in a 2-year membership is $9,000 (saving you $1,000).
Investing in a 3-year membership is $13,000 (saving you $2,000).
We recommend starting with a 2-year membership to give your chapter the opportunity to develop and create impact, then reassessing after 2 years and moving forward with a 3-year membership for the best value.
Our team would love to talk with you about any questions on pricing. You can reach us
here.
How are students and advisors selected?
Great question! We can tell you're really thinking through this.
Our experience manager will work through with you what makes the most sense for your school once you become a member of our community, but we offer an application link and flyers as resources to build your team.
Most schools in our community extend the invitation to their educators who self-select into the advisor role, and then we support the advisor during our advisor training on how best to recruit students to join the chapter.
Can SLED integrate with my school's existing leadership/innovation club/class?
Absolutely! While SLED works great on its own, providing an existing club/class with the SLED resources we provide will help them make their existing coursework more actionable and create incentive structures to support their pre-existing focus and direction.
SLED was created to be a framework that can fit into the unique needs of your specific school, making it easy to integrate into existing programming.
What outcomes can I expect from my SLED Chapter?
Since SLED is designed to equip advisors to empower your SLED students to identify and solve your specific school and communities biggest challenges, we can't guarrantee specific outcomes.
However, we do know that current SLED chapters have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for solar energy at their school, built and maintain school gardens that supply their cafeteria with fresh fruits and vegetables, built apps, launched viral social media campaigns, started tech teams that support students and teachers, provided PD for their educators, and much more. You can watch impact summary videos from a few of our SLED chapters
HERE.
Successful SLED chapters have supportive administration. Hallmarks of impactful chapters include experiences such as District Discussions where SLED students and administrators talk through their shared ideal vision for their school and what's holding them back from reaching that vision. We provide training for your SLED advisors on how to effectively host District Discussions.
When does a 1-year membership start and end?
The official start of your membership goes from July - June.
All our experiences take place within that timeframe, and you will have access to our portal from July 1 - June 30
After we purchase a subscription, what ongoing support does SLED offer?
In addition to our live trainings, conferences, and national competition, each SLED chapter is assigned a SLED mentor who will connect with your SLED Advisor each month to gauge progress, suggest partnerships, and create strategies for overcoming obstacles to chapter progress.
Outside of the monthly touchpoints, SLED Mentors are available at any time to your SLED Advisor to answer questions and help them best leverage the resources we offer.
What happens after I purchase a SLED Chapter?
A SLED Mentor from our team will be assigned to you and will reach out to help you choose a great advisor, determine if your SLED chapter should be a club or class model, complete any necessary vendor paperwork, and (for districts) help choose which schools are ideal for for the program.
Once you choose a SLED Advisor, our SLED Mentor will reach out to them to establish the relationship (they will stay in touch throughout the year, speaking - at minimum - once a month), communicate our culture, and get them signed up and prepared for our live
Advisor Training experience where they will be equipped to recruit, retain, and empower their SLED students throughout the year.
