If you teach, you've probably sat through a leadership assembly or two. A speaker comes in, gets the kids fired up for an hour, and then leaves. By Friday the whole thing has evaporated. iLead is the opposite of that. It's not an event. It's a curriculum the students walk for three years, and they run most of it themselves.
Let me explain it the way I'd explain it to a teacher across the table, because I know your time is short and your patience for buzzwords is shorter.
The short version
iLead is a values-based, three-year youth leadership curriculum inspired by the leadership philosophy of Dr. John C. Maxwell. It comes in three volumes (iChoose, iDo, and iLead), one per year. Each volume holds 32 lesson parts spread across 4 units, so it fits a school year without eating your whole schedule. And here's the part teachers tend to like most: it's designed to be facilitated by the students themselves, in small weekly groups we call Transformation Tables.
You're not up front lecturing about leadership. You're setting the table and letting young people practice it on each other. That peer-to-peer piece is the whole engine. Kids will tune out an adult telling them who to be. They lean in when the person across the table is one of their own.
How the three years actually work
The program is built as a journey, not a pile of lessons. Each year has a job:
- Year One: iChoose. Students learn to make better choices by connecting their personal values to everyday leadership. This is the foundation: who do I want to be, and what do I stand for?
- Year Two: iDo. Now they put those choices into action. Values turn into habits and into visible behavior. It's the difference between knowing the right thing and doing it when nobody's watching.
- Year Three: iLead. Students step up to lead others: growing their influence and lifting the people around them. By now they're not just managing themselves; they're the ones setting the tone.
One year at a time, a young person moves from "I choose who I am" to "I do what I said" to "I help other people do the same." That's a real arc. It's also, not by accident, exactly how leadership grows in a grown adult. We just usually learn it the hard way, decades late.
What's inside a single lesson
Each lesson pairs a value or a leadership trait with an image and a quote to make it stick. Then it does three simple things: a short, honest teaching; an honest self-check where the student rates how well they actually live that trait; and one immediate action they choose to take before the next meeting. Teach it, look in the mirror, do one thing. That's the rhythm, and it repeats until it becomes second nature.
There's a reason it's built that way. Most character education dies at step one (the teaching) and never makes it to the doing. iLead is engineered so the doing is the point.
Why this matters right now
Here's a number that ought to bother all of us. According to the Human Resource Professionals Association, 63% of Millennials and Gen Z feel their leadership skills are not being developed. That's half the world's population and its rising workforce, telling us we're dropping the ball. Strong grades alone don't fix it. Kids can graduate with a perfect transcript and no earthly idea how to lead themselves, let alone anyone else.
There's a second problem, quieter but just as real. Ask a teenager what "leader" means and a lot of them will describe a boss: someone with power, position, and maybe a little corruption thrown in. That's the picture the world handed them. iLead replaces it with a healthier one: leadership built on values a young person can actually admire and grow into.
What you'd get as the teacher
iLead isn't a binder we hand you and wish you luck. When an educator registers, you get individual access to the iLead web-based Sponsor Hub: one place that holds the resources, tools, and lessons for both the classroom and virtual settings. You can push out lessons and anonymous student surveys, and get feedback back on engagement, student growth, and attendance. In other words, you get a window into how your young leaders are actually developing, not just a hope that something sank in.
It's also built to bend around what you already do. You don't have to blow up your structure to fit it in. It gives you the content and the process; you keep the flexibility to embed it where it fits.
Where Leadership TeamBuilder comes in
We're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit on Long Island, and we're an authorized facilitator of John Maxwell's iLead program. Because iLead here is donor-funded, it can reach classrooms that could never squeeze a leadership program into the budget. Just $27 covers one student for a year. That's the whole model: generous people fund it so the school doesn't have to.
If you've read this far, you're probably the kind of teacher who's already picturing three or four kids who need exactly this. That instinct is usually right. The best thing you can do is start a conversation. No commitment, just a real talk about whether it fits your building.
Questions teachers ask us
The guide above explains what iLead is. This part answers the questions that usually come next, the ones a teacher asks while doing the math on a schedule that is already full. Every fact here comes from our own iLead page or from the Maxwell Leadership Foundation's own website. Details can change, so check with us for current details before you plan around anything.
What grades is it for?
The Maxwell Leadership Foundation says iLead is a values-based leadership curriculum designed for students in grades K through 12. The three-year path above (iChoose, iDo, iLead) is how we describe the journey on our iLead page. If you teach a certain grade, tell us which one, and we will talk through what fits.
Who actually runs the group?
The students do. The Foundation describes iLead as a roundtable where each student in the small group takes turns leading the discussion. Your job is to set the table, keep time, and step back. That last part is the hardest. It can feel like watching someone else drive your car. Stay in the passenger seat anyway, and notice which kids lean in.
Do I need special training?
The Foundation says teachers receive training and ongoing support, so the curriculum becomes a natural part of how they already teach. You do not need to be a leadership expert. You need to be willing to let students practice.
Where does it fit in the school day?
The Foundation lists several ways schools use it: schoolwide, or inside classrooms, advisories, or extracurricular time. That gives you options. An advisory or homeroom period can be an easy place to start, because it already exists and nobody has to give up a lesson.
What topics does it cover?
The Foundation names five areas: character, communication, teamwork, service, and vision. It calls iLead a full academic-year program. Each lesson, as our iLead page explains, pairs one value with a picture and a quote, then a short teaching, an honest self-check, and one action to take right away.
What does it cost the school?
Through Leadership TeamBuilder, iLead is donor-funded. Our iLead page says $27 covers one student for a year. Generous donors pay so the school does not have to. Ask us about your building when you reach out.
How will I know it is working?
The Sponsor Hub described above lets you send anonymous student surveys and see engagement and attendance. You can also keep your own simple record. Here is one we suggest. It is our own idea, not part of the curriculum:
- Before you start, write the names of three students you hope this will help. Next to each name, write one thing you see them do now.
- Every four weeks, look at the list again. Did any of those three lead a discussion? Keep a promise from the action step? Speak up when they used to stay quiet?
- At the end of the term, compare your notes with the survey results. Numbers tell you what happened. Your notes tell you who it happened to.
Who is the Maxwell Leadership Foundation?
The Foundation says it was set up to take John C. Maxwell's leadership principles to the nations, and part of its work is embedding values-based leadership in schools. It runs student programs, including iLead. Leadership TeamBuilder is an authorized facilitator of iLead on Long Island. We describe the program here; we do not reproduce its lessons.
How to bring it up with your principal
You believe in it. Now you have about 90 seconds in the hallway between bells. Here is a short way to say it. Change the words so they sound like you.
> "There is a student-led leadership program called iLead. Students meet in small groups and take turns leading. It can run in advisory, so we do not lose class time. It is donor-funded through a local nonprofit. Can I get you a one-page summary this week?"
Then send the link to our iLead page and this guide. Ask for one small yes, like a pilot with one class, not a whole-school decision.
An example first month
This is an illustration, not a real school. A middle school teacher starts iLead in one advisory group of about a dozen students. In week one, she leads the first meeting herself so everyone sees how it works. By week three, a different student leads each time. One boy who almost never talks reads the quote out loud, then asks the table a question. He does not say much more. But he volunteers to lead again in week six. She writes his name on her list of three and adds a check mark. That is what small growth looks like: easy to miss unless you are watching for it.
Where to go next
- For a parent's view of building leadership at home, read How to Develop Leadership Skills in Your Teenager.
- To compare iLead with other options for young people on Long Island, read Youth Leadership Programs on Long Island.
- When you are ready to talk about your school, see the full iLead page and reach out from there.
Sources
- Leadership TeamBuilder, iLead program page. Three volumes, 32 lesson parts across 4 units, Transformation Tables, lesson parts, Sponsor Hub, donor funding, and $27 per student per year.
- Maxwell Leadership Foundation, Student Transformation. Grades K through 12, roundtable format with students taking turns leading, teacher training and support, ways schools adopt it, the five topic areas, and a full academic year.
- Maxwell Leadership Foundation, About. Why the Foundation was set up and its work in schools.
All pages were opened on November 3, 2026. The answers on tracking progress, the principal script, and the example are our own.
Want the full program page?
See exactly how iChoose, iDo, and iLead fit together, then reach out about bringing it to your school. It's donor-funded, so cost is rarely the thing that stops us.
Explore the iLead Program