Compassionate Leadership
For kids, youth, and everyone supporting them, compassionate leadership means leading with your heart and mind. It’s about listening mindfully, being present, and acting with intention and purpose. This kind of leadership emphasizes service, kindness, and the desire to make a positive difference in the world. It encourages guiding others through understanding, empathy, and mindful actions, creating a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered.
Compassionate leadership inspires trust, fosters connection, and helps build a more caring, resilient community.
KOA Coaching:
A compassionate leadership program for kids and youth.
What is KOA Coaching?
The KOA Coaching leadership program empowers young leaders and educators to become role models of mindful, compassionate leadership. Grounded in mindfulness and social-emotional learning, KOA Coaching equips participants with tools to lead with authenticity and purpose, creating ripple effects of kindness and calm throughout the school.
KOA is an acronym for kindness, optimism, and awareness, the essence of social and emotional learning (SEL). KOA Coaching is a trauma-informed and culturally responsive leadership program. It is designed to help children learn various mindfulness-based practices (MBP) to help cope with stressors.
How to become a KOA Coach
Junior/Intermediate classes receive a brief presentation about the KOA Coaching program. Interested students sign up to participate.
How Does It Work?
Each team of Coaches become experts in a specific mindfulness-based practice (MBP) and then teach the rest of the school about how it helps with self-regulation. The school gets a daily dose of mindfulness as the KOA Coaches rotate throughout the school. A bit of intentional breathing can make a significant difference.
Step 1: Prepare
The first two weeks are spent explaining various mindfulness-based practices and how they calm the nervous system and help with self-regulation.
Step 2: Produce Posters & Procedures
Each team signs up to present a specific mindfulness-based practice. The teams prepare posters or slide decks, explaining the procedures and the benefits of their specific mindfulness-based practice.
Step 3: Practice
The students practise their presentations to receive constructive feedback. This prepares the KOA Coaches for presenting in front of the classes throughout the school.
Step 4: Present
Each week, the KOA Coaches receive their schedule so that they know which classes they are presenting to after nutrition breaks.
Step 5: Positively Impact
KOA Coaching is highly recommended for all children!
“When my students were feeling big emotions, in order to self-regulate, they would refer to breathing activities that they were taught by the grade 4 and 5 KOA Coaches, such as Blue Jay Breath or Hot Chocolate Breath. Learning various breathing techniques really helped in the classroom. Even the parents of my students commented that they noticed their children using breathing exercises at home. KOA Coaching was really beneficial for my students, and I recommend KOA Coaching in all schools.”
Kayleigh Warrick – FDK Teacher, Peel District School Board
Transforming lives one breath, one step, and one moment at a time.
We are a social enterprise, customizing mindfulness-based programs and services.