Glowmundo’s purpose is to facilitate and support collective and equitable change in school communities. Our work with schools is founded on the idea of schools being communities of belonging where everyone no matter their role feels safe emotionally and physically, everybody no matter their background is affirmed in their identity and their strengths, where students experience academic learning and social-emotional development; where staff feels empowered, heard and seen and a sense of renewed commitment towards their job no matter the challenges; and where families feel they have a partner to raise their child honoring their cultures, their identities and meeting them where they are at. We collaborate with teachers, administrators, and families to develop the knowledge, skills, and mindsets that create safe, meaningful, and engaged learning communities that respect and honor the diverse views and experiences of all community members.

Transformative learning is Glowmundo’s unique approach to professional learning and capacity building. This kind of transformative learning facilitates a “structural shift” in the learner described by Edmund O’Sullivan as:

“Transformative learning involves experiencing a deep, structural shift in the basic premises of thought, feelings, and actions. It is a shift of consciousness that dramatically and irreversibly alters our way of being in the world. Such a shift involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-locations; our relationships with other humans and with the natural world; our understanding of relations of power in interlocking structures of class, race, and gender; our body awareness, our visions of alternative approaches to living; and our sense of possibilities for social justice and peace and personal joy.” (O’Sullivan, 2003, p. 326)

Our implementation model and theory of change are rooted in the idea that our interactive and reflective interventions increase awareness, knowledge, and empathy which begins to change attitudes, biases, beliefs, and ultimately mental models and mindsets. These changes in mindsets are the foundation of deeper learning, ongoing relationship-based practices, and collaboration. This approach creates shifts across a school community involving leadership capacity, teacher/administrator collaboration, and student and family engagement.

For this, we offer both professional learnings in the form of training and courses, capacity building in the form of coaching to teaching teams and consulting with leadership and specialized teams within the school system.

This work is customized to each school and institution we come in touch with based on a needs assessment and respective information sharing looking at it with a systemic lens. After the assessment is compiled the entry point of the intervention is co-planned alongside school leadership. We establish three-year partnerships with schools and design effective and transformative professional learning experiences as well as coaching and consulting that meet the needs of each unique community.