FOUNDATIONAL GUIDE CERTIFICATION
The guide profession starts here
Become the educator AI can't replace.
Study the world's leading Guide-model schools. Master the systems exceptional Guides use to help students love school, learn more, and become capable, self-directed young adults.
October 2026 Cohort
Remote Learning + In-person Retreat
Franklin, Tennessee
Drawing from the practices of:
Alpha School • Acton Academy • Prenda • Apogee Schools • Greater Dayton School • Slope School • Ad Astra School • Khan Lab School • Summit Public Schools • Zero School • Malawi Guide Schools
The teaching profession is changing
From instructor
To coach
From lesson deliverer
To experience architect
From behavior manager
To culture builder
For generations, great educators have inspired students, built confidence, and helped young people discover who they are.
At the same time, they've shouldered another responsibility: delivering daily lessons to an entire classroom.
Today, that balance is changing.
Artificial intelligence can now personalize instruction, provide immediate feedback, monitor mastery, and adapt learning pathways with remarkable speed. As technology assumes more responsibility for routine instruction, educators have an unprecedented opportunity to focus on the work that matters most.
A new role is emerging. We call it the Guide.
Guides spend less time delivering information and more time coaching learners, building culture, designing unforgettable learning experiences, and helping every student become capable, confident, and self-directed.
Foundational Guide Certification was created to prepare educators for this new chapter in the teaching profession.
The Guide role is the most important new profession to emerge in education in a century.
Master the 5 pillars of exceptional guiding
Great Guides develop a unique combination of knowledge, judgment, and practical skills.
Foundational Guide Certification is organized around five pillars that appear consistently across the world's leading Guide-model schools. Together, they form a practical framework for helping students flourish in an age of AI.
Pillar 1
The future of the Guide profession
Discover why the Guide role is emerging and how exceptional educators are redefining learning in the age of intelligent technology.
A day in the life of a Guide • AI and the future of teaching • School tours • The Guide mindset
Pillar 2
Guiding core academic skills
Learn how Guides create focused, personalized Core Skills experiences that accelerate academic growth while helping students become independent.
Morning Launches • Core Skills • Student motivation • Learning technology
Pillar 3
Building culture
Create the relationships, routines, and traditions that help students feel known, challenged, accountable, and deeply connected to their community.
Town Halls • Expectations • Coaching • Community traditions
Pillar 4
Designing life-changing afternoons
Transform afternoons into the most memorable part of the school day through workshops, passion projects, masterpieces, and talent-accelerating experiences.
Workshops • Passion projects • Masterpieces • Scheduling • Experiential learning
Pillar 5
Entrepreneurial leadership
Develop the leadership skills needed to introduce the Guide model, build trust with families, and help your school move confidently into the future.
Parents as partners • Hiring Guides • Storytelling • Implementation • Operational excellence
Program details
Start date for Cohort 3
October 12, 2026
Remote Learning Days
October 12-19, 2026
Travel Day & Welcome Dinner
October 20, 2026
Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Venue TBA
In-person Learning Days
October 21-23, 2026
Location of In-person Learning
Franklin, Tennessee
25 minutes from Nashville
Airport
Nashville International Airport (BNA)
Price
$3,500 per person
Includes the Welcome Dinner and breakfast/lunch on October 21-23.
Travel, lodging, and other meals are not included.
Certification
Successful completion of this program results in Foundational Guide Certification. Documentation for applying for continuing education units is available upon request.
Refund & Cancellation Policy
Due to our carefully curated cohort sizes and composition, we do not offer refunds at this time.
Why our program prepares you so well
By the time you're certified, you will have...
Examined various Guide-model schools in detail
through a series of documentary-style videos that give you the complete insider's view of their systems.
Developed a persuasive vision of the benefits of the Guide role
compared to the traditional teacher role based on examples of successful Guides in top-performing schools.
Practiced giving a walk-through tour of your implementation
to rally the support of your stakeholders, including civic leaders, parents, students, and the media.
Designed your students' first weeks of the learning experience
ensuring you can confidently lead your classroom implementation without a lengthy planning phase.
Recentered on building individual relationships with students
to shift into a coaching role where you offer relentless motivation, emotional support, and high expectations.
Demonstrated mastery by completing in-person mastery challenges
to earn foundational certification based on peer assessment and feedback.
Byron, 11-year-old student at Alpha School, a Guide model
“Before I came to Alpha, I was feeling kind of limited. But once I started, I began learning at more than twice the pace I did before. The afternoon workshops and projects let me explore things I’m passionate about, like engineering and music, and my guides have helped me discover new interests and skills. I feel more motivated and engaged every day, and I actually look forward to school now.”
We help you reach impossible teaching goals.
As predicted by the theory of disruptive innovation, AI apps are replacing conventional instruction with stunning efficiency. I've helped schools embrace this disruption for 15 years. It's the solution many discouraged or underchallenged children need.
You have the opportunity to lead the way in fixing today's broken instructional model. You can make a world-changing impact.
Ditch the traditional classroom and bring mastery-based, personalized, limitless learning to students. You'll fall in love with teaching in an entirely new way.
I hope you'll join our next cohort for an exclusive experience to reskill for a breathtaking new paradigm. You'll leave with confidence, tools, and skills to guide students to love school, learn more, and reach impossibly big goals that simply aren't reachable in the old system.
Grab your spot today!
Sincerely,
Heather Clayton Staker
Co-founder & CEO, Guide School
