Practice the moments that matter.
As school people, we make consequential decisions every day—often with incomplete information, competing values, and public scrutiny. Telling educators what the “right” decision is doesn’t build judgment. So how do we prepare teachers and other educators? By Letting them practice making real classroom and boardroom decisions.
That’s why we built SchoolSims: narrative-based, online, choose-your-own-adventure simulations for teachers, leaders, and boards. SchoolSims emerses participants into a comprehensive online educator preparation program. Each sim puts you in a real K–12 problem of practice, asks you to make the call, and shows you how that decision ripples across students, families, staff, and the community over time. Then we debrief—together.
What makes SchoolSims different
- Narrative with consequences. Choices branch. Stakeholders react. Time passes. You see second- and third-order effects that a case study can’t surface. Users experience realistic educator scenarios in real-time across an array of choices that have overlapping effects.
- Built for cohorts. Teams work a shared storyline, compare paths, and learn from each other’s reasoning. The result is better conversations and tighter alignment for your Professional Learning Communities.
- Standards-aligned, evidence-producing. Every Sim maps to frameworks that districts and universities already use (PSEL, CAEP, Danielson, as well as State Standards). The portal captures decision trails and reflections—useful for coaching and accreditation without extra paperwork.
- Two vantage points. Many scenarios run from teacher and leader perspectives (and in some cases board governance), making system interactions visible. Think of it as a comprehensive educator enrichment tool across varied roles and responsibilities.
- Flexible delivery. Run live or asynchronous, in person or online. Replay to test a different strategy or approach. Engage in meaningful conversations in group training sessions, or leverage the opportunity for independent online teacher training.
How it works (simple by design)
- Choose a Sim tied to your goals—classroom management, feedback and coaching, equity in discipline, parent/social-media crises, board-head boundaries, academic integrity, and more.
- Enter into the context. Briefings, artifacts, and “noise” mirror real life. Practice managing different personalities and responses in varied, realistic settings.
- Decide at key moments. Your choices branch the story and surface trade- SchoolSims brings to life detailed educator training and reflection through immersive experience.
- See the consequences. Outcomes unfold over days or weeks in-sim. Play out the entirety of educator decision-making scenarios and see the trickle-down effect of the consequences.
- Debrief with purpose. We connect decisions to standards, ethics, equity, and communication.
- Capture evidence. Notes and decision trails live in the portal for reflection, assessment, and reporting.
- Try again. Rerun the sim with a new approach and compare outcomes.
What we’re seeing in the field
Across university prep programs, district pipelines, and independent-school leadership teams, partners report:
- Faster readiness. New teachers and aspiring leaders step into roles with reps on tough conversations—feedback, discipline, family conflict, and boundary-setting. Both leader and teacher simulations build confidence and judgement skills.
- Stronger self-efficacy and transfer. Participants are more willing to act, and their reasoning in the sim shows up in classrooms and offices.
- Cleaner alignment. Cohorts develop a shared language for judgment, ethics, and standards (CAEP/inTASC/PSEL). Meetings run better because the hard parts have been practiced.
- Usable artifacts. Programs pull reflection notes and decision evidence straight into coaching cycles, coursework, and accreditation reviews.
- Better culture. Practicing gray-area decisions together builds trust. People see how mission and equity show up under pressure. They can experience cohesive educator training with district-wide alignment standards.
These outcomes are consistent with broader research on principal pipelines, active professional learning, and simulation-supported practice. But the most convincing evidence is local: cohorts that can point to decisions they’d make differently tomorrow—and why.
Where simulations fit
- Teacher preparation and induction. Give new teachers safe reps on classroom and family dynamics before those moments happen on the job. Realistic classroom management prep and teacher-parent interaction scenarios help teachers learn and grow in their roles.
- Leadership pipelines. Add deliberate practice between coursework and the job—especially on communication, stakeholder management, and ethics.
- Board and head teams. Rehearse governance boundaries and community tensions in a structured, non-personal way.
- PLC and PD days. Use a sim as the spine for collaborative learning, then carry the reflection into coaching. SchoolSims is perfect for any school or district seeking engaging educator training resources and materials.
Future-proof professional learning
New dilemmas—AI in the classroom, social-media blowups, politicized boardrooms—arrive faster than policy can. Simulations keep pace. We can update or author scenarios quickly, while anchoring decisions to enduring principles: mission, equity, ethics, and learning. The modality is flexible, the evidence is portable, and the practice is real.
Bottom line
Information doesn’t build judgment. Experience does.
SchoolSims gives educators deliberate practice in the decisions that shape students’ days and schools’ culture—before those decisions count.
If you’re running a prep program, building a pipeline, or strengthening your leadership team, let’s put a sim in front of your cohort and work the decisions together.
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