Solutions for K-12 Schools
Empowering Educators and Leaders Through Real-World Professional Development

Sixty-four percent of school districts report a shortage of qualified candidates, and data from 30 states reveals 41,920 teacher vacancies and 365,044 teachers not fully certified for their assignments.

SchoolSims provides simulation-based professional development to help educators, school leaders, and counselors enhance decision-making, build confidence, and improve staff retention. Our simulations for aspiring school leaders help to build principal pipelines and keep good educators in your district.

  • Immersive simulations offer a risk-free environment where participants navigate real-world challenges, fostering critical thinking and leadership growth. By strengthening leadership pipelines and equipping educators with practical skills, districts can reduce burnout and retain top talent.
  • The Cohort Insights Dashboard tracks career progression, well-being, and job confidence, providing data-driven insights to personalize support and drive continuous improvement. With SchoolSims, districts develop and retain highly qualified educators, leading to better student outcomes and a stronger education system.

 

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Who We Serve
Aspiring Leader and Principal Preparation Programs

Provide aspiring school leaders with practical, real-world experiences, enhancing their readiness for principal roles with topics such as difficult conversations, instructional and operational leadership, student safety, leading change, and equity.

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Teacher Professional Development

Provide teachers with practical, real-world experiences, with topics in classroom management, IEPs, parent-teacher conferences, and more.

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School Counselors

Provide school counselors with practical, real-world experiences, with topics in student mental health, crisis intervention, academic advising, and more.

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Teacher Induction Programs

Support new teachers by adding simulations to your current induction model or create a simulation-centric induction model that builds confidence, classroom management skills, and instructional effectiveness.

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Grow Your Own/Career & Technical Education Programs

Prepare students interested in the teaching profession for workforce challenges with career-focused simulations and experiential learning.

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Instructional Coaching & Mentoring

Strengthen mentoring programs with hands-on simulations that foster professional growth and reflective learning.

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Professional Development Workshops

Prepare school leaders and educators with professional development workshops incorporating simulations to enhance the learning experience that encourages engagement, discussion, and problem-solving, making workshops more impactful and memorable.

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Benefits of Our Solutions for K-12 Schools

Real-World Learning Experiences That Drive Growth and Success

SchoolSims provides simulation-based professional learning that offers educators, school leaders, and counselors hands-on, impactful experiences. Each simulation features at least six decision points, leading to different outcomes and real-world consequences. This reflective, engaging approach enhances professional development, strengthens decision-making, and prepares future leaders for complex challenges.

Enhance Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Skills

Our simulations place participants in complex, real-world scenarios where they must evaluate options, make decisions, and reflect on outcomes. This hands-on approach strengthens critical thinking and problem-solving skills, fostering deeper learning and improving decision-making under pressure.

Provide Safe Environments for Practical Application

Simulations offer a risk-free space where educators and students can practice making difficult decisions without real-world consequences. This allows for experimentation, reflection, and growth, helping participants gain confidence and competence in their roles.

Adaptable to Diverse Educational Contexts

Our solutions are designed to support a wide range of educational scenarios, including classroom management, difficult conversations, equity, social-emotional issues, and more. With flexible content and scenarios, simulations can be tailored to meet the unique needs of the K-12 learning community.

Aligned With Current Educational Standards and Best Practices

SchoolSims’ simulations are built around proven educational frameworks and best practices such as PSEL, NELP, CAEP, and InTASC. Each scenario is crafted to align with industry standards, ensuring that participants receive relevant, high-quality professional development that directly supports their goals and objectives.

Use Both Synchronously and/or Asynchronously

Simulations can be used in class as a group activity, individually, as a project, or in a hybrid format. They run on any browser and are easily accessible. Simply share a link with the participant(s) or add the links to an LMS.

Cohort Insights Dashboard

The SchoolSims Cohort Insights Dashboard provides real-time analytics to help institutions track career progression, educator well-being, and job confidence. By analyzing simulation engagement and decision-making patterns, the dashboard delivers data-driven insights that inform professional development, retention strategies, and leadership readiness.

With this tool, administrators can:

  • Monitor educator growth through key performance indicators
  • Identify areas for support to reduce burnout and improve retention
  • Personalize training programs based on individual needs
  • Strengthen leadership pipelines by tracking leadership potential

By leveraging these insights, districts can make proactive, informed decisions that foster a more engaged, confident, and well-prepared workforce—leading to better educator retention and student outcomes.

Discover effective K12 professional development strategies enhanced by simulation-based learning. This guide explores how school districts, instructional leaders, and educators can implement immersive, decision-based simulations to strengthen leadership pipelines, improve classroom management, and foster collaboration across roles. Learn how simulations support teacher induction, principal preparation, and just-in-time PD—aligned with standards like PSEL, NELP, and INTASC. Whether you’re looking to boost teacher retention or reimagine PD delivery, explore real-world use-cases that make professional learning more engaging, scalable, and impactful.

CohortWorkshopAsynchronousTeam MeetingCoachingMentoringJust-in-Time Sims
New TeachersClassroom Management, Equity & BiasClassroom Scenarios (e.g., phone use, engagement)Debrief after sim playSkill-building via sim reflectionAssigned mentor + shared sim reflectionFor situations happening close in time (e.g., parent conflict, student behavior)
Teachers with No Classroom ExperienceClassroom Routines, Student EngagementIntro Sim Pathway (First Day, Management, Communication)Grade team debrief with sim discussionNew teacher coaching with sim analysisAssigned mentor with progressive sim tasksSim replay before class or during prep for common challenges
Counselors/Social WorkersStudent Mental Health SimsDEI/SEL-centered self-paced simStudent support team reflectionsCoaching on parent communicationPeer mentoring with case-based simsImmediate SEL response simulations
ParaprofessionalsSupporting Instruction, Behavior ScenariosRole-based self-paced support simsSupport staff collaborative sim debriefInstructional coach + paraprofessional scenario reviewMentor paraprofessional with paired sim playBehavior support or escalation response sims
TutorsBuilding Relationships, Supporting Student GoalsOne-on-one tutoring challenge simsPeer reflection and strategy meetings with simsTargeted academic support sim coachingShared sim experience with lead tutorAcademic motivation or SEL situation sims
Instructional CoachesLeading Difficult ConversationsSelf-paced simulations on feedback deliveryDiscussion of sim results with teams1:1 session with sim reflectionSim used as tool to mentor new coachesModel timely feedback or classroom issue resolution
MentorsN/APartial sim play with async completion and discussion next meetingN/AN/AN/AAssign based on needs basis
Aspiring LeadersDecision-Making, EthicsSelf-paced Principal Sim pathwayTeam debriefs by scenarioReview decisions in sim 1:1Discuss choices made in sim with mentorReacting to unexpected school events
Principal/AP InterviewsN/ASelf-paced Principal Sim pathwayN/AN/AN/AN/A
Principals/APsCrisis Response, Staff ConflictSim library by theme (e.g., community engagement)Admin team problem-solving sessionsFeedback-focused coaching using sim pathsLeadership mentoring with shared sim playCrisis debrief or urgent comms training
Central Office LeadersCommunication StrategiesPolicy & Operations sims asyncDepartment-wide PD sim sessionsTargeted leadership coaching w/ simExecutive mentoring with scenario reviewsUrgent policy communication or staff incident response
Board Members (optional)Vision & Strategy Workshop SimOrientation use (view-only or reflection)Governance discussionsN/AN/AN/A
Cohort Insights Dashboard

The Cohort Insights Dashboard by SchoolSims is a powerful data-driven tool designed to support educator performance, career development, well-being, and job confidence. It provides real-time analytics to help school leaders and educators track progress, identify strengths, and pinpoint areas for growth.

As part of every SchoolSims subscription, this dashboard enables administrators to make informed decisions to enhance professional development, improve instructional strategies, and drive long-term educator success.

Key Features

  • Performance Tracking – Monitors educator engagement and progress in simulations to highlight strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Actionable Insights – Provides real-time data on decision-making trends, response patterns, and skill development to enhance teaching effectiveness.
  • Customizable Reporting – Generates detailed reports tailored to institutional goals, supporting professional growth and accreditation needs.

By leveraging real-time feedback and performance trends, the Cohort Insights Dashboard empowers administrators to make smarter, data-driven decisions that foster educator growth and success.

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Strengthening Educators and Leaders with Real-World Simulation-Based Professional Development

Our simulation-based professional development programs are designed for seamless integration, allowing you to effortlessly incorporate them into your existing initiatives or collaborate with us to develop new, tailored plans.

School District Induction Program

Provides new teachers with a structured introduction to foundational skills, immersing them in real-world scenarios to practice classroom management, lesson planning, differentiated instruction, and conflict resolution in a safe environment.

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Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) Program

Prepares leaders to address systemic bias, promote inclusivity, and create equity-driven school cultures through experiential learning and reflective practice.

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School Leadership Professional Development and Recertification Program

Offers educators flexible, impactful training options to grow into leadership roles, focusing on enhancing decision-making, cultural responsiveness, and leadership skills essential for effective school management.

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Download Our Simulation Overviews for K-12 Schools

Download our complete list of simulation overviews. This comprehensive guide provides simulation context, key characters, trade-offs, and more.

 

Alignment with Professional Standards

SchoolSims simulations seamlessly integrate simulation-based experiential learning to develop educational leaders and teachers, aligning with standards such as PSEL, NELP, CAEP, InTASC, and AAQEP. These simulations immerse participants in authentic school-based scenarios, providing a risk-free environment to practice evaluating context and actively applying standards.

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Research-Based Approach

Auburn University’s Use of Simulations To Develop Decision-Making Capacity In Aspiring Leaders In K-12 Schools

The purpose of this study was to determine whether authentic, problem-based leadership simulations can effectively foster measurable growth in the decision-making abilities of aspiring school leaders. Auburn University conducted this research with two cohorts from their Master’s Degree Program. One cohort completed three simulations, while the other cohort did not participate in any.

The results revealed that participants who completed the simulations experienced significant benefits, such as:

  • Encouraging thoughtful decision-making: Simulations prompted participants to think critically before making decisions.

  • Understanding consequences: Participants learned that every decision has a consequence.

  • Highlighting the importance of fact-finding and wait time: The simulations emphasized the necessity of thorough fact-finding and the value of taking time before making decisions.

  • Providing a safe environment for learning: Participants could make mistakes and observe the resulting consequences in a controlled, safe environment.

This study demonstrates the potential of simulations to enhance the decision-making capacities of future school leaders.

Read Simulation-Based Research
SchoolSims Resources
Preview the SchoolSims Library

Explore the SchoolSims Library of Simulations, where educators and school leaders can access a diverse range of immersive scenarios designed to enhance professional development. Discover tools that foster critical decision-making, collaboration, and leadership skills essential for effective school management.

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Client Success Stories and Testimonials

Read inspiring client success stories and testimonials that showcase how SchoolSims simulations have transformed professional development for educators and school leaders. Hear firsthand accounts of improved decision-making, enhanced leadership skills, and the impactful experiences that have shaped their journeys.

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Simulation-Based Research

Delve into simulation-based research that highlights the effectiveness of experiential learning in education. Discover studies and findings that demonstrate how simulations enhance critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills, providing valuable insights for educators and school leaders.

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