gcLi stands firmly upon the belief that teachers can make students better leaders. Students encounter opportunities to demonstrate leadership every day—and strong teachers are able to recognize these moments and capitalize on them.

The gcli Leadership Lab is a week-long course of intensive study and discussion designed to empower secondary school teachers to create dynamic and diverse student leaders. Participant teachers examine current theories about adolescence and adolescent culture, become attuned to various learning styles, and empathize with the social pressures students face. In addition, through experiential events, simulations, and psychometric assessment tools, teachers discover and expand upon their own perspectives on leadership.

Teachers leave the Leadership Lab equipped with an individual framework to cultivate student leadership through the following avenues:

• Identifying teachable moments

• Understanding how language of discourse and personal presence can affect the promotion of a leadership context

• Giving more effective feedback to students

The gcLi Leadership Lab demystifies successful teacher influence upon the human dimension of schooling, enabling teachers to foster leadership learning in their daily interactions with young people.