Mission
GYLI delivers transformative educational programs that foster global pluralism, collaborative leadership, and environmental sustainability that help students and teachers become fully engaged citizens of the world.
Vision
To build more democratic and socially just communities through access to and experience of multiple perspectives and narratives that foster deep connections to the earth and to each other, inspiring collaborative, multilateral action.
GYLI Four Pillars
GYLI’s curriculum, programs, and organization are based upon the foundation of four distinct yet interrelated pillars:
- Collaborative Leadership
- Multi-Cultural Identity
- Religious Pluralism
- Environmental Sustainability
For more information on the four pillars, please visit our Essential Elements page.
For more information on LLPs, visit our Leader Learning Plan page.
Core Beliefs
Transformation: First and foremost, GYLI believes that learners can and must change themselves on the way to changing our communities and, ultimately, our world. We offer the chance for teachers and students to discover who they really are, who they want to be, and how to get there in small measurable steps.
Transformative Teaching: Teachers are learners, students can be great teachers, and all adults within a school should model the behaviors they want students to adopt. The GYLI philosophy of teaching is simple: teachers need to be present to themselves, their students, and the world around us. What many teachers discover through their participation in GYLI is that they can engage in inquiry and learn and discover alongside student learners. By making students the agents of their own learning, the teachers become free to be agents of self-learning, and self-discovery, as well.
Transformative Student Learning: GYLI believes that opportunities for experiential learning and reflection should be encouraged and nurtured as a way to transform students into compassionate, courageous, and self-aware leaders. Students in our programs learn to trust their instincts, act based on personal leadership beliefs, chart their future by acknowledging their past, and create communities of acceptance and accountability based on clear communication.