Dr. Jen Clifden
Educator | Relationship Researcher | Retention Specialist
The Grounded {NEW} Teacher
New teachers enter the classroom carrying both the hope of their calling and the weight of daily challenges that can quickly erode their well-being.
The Light You Cast™ | The Grounded {New} Teacher equips them with the inner resources, relational skills, and restorative practices they need to thrive; not despite the stress of teaching, but because they learn to use that stress to strengthen their social and emotional (SEL) capacity.
Grounded in the core principles of Rest, Restoration, and Revitalization and with the recognization that new teacher wellness is the unseen foundation for healthy school communities, this training deepens adult SEL skills that fortify educator Presence, resilience, and relational attunement.
Teachers learn how to interpret stress as meaningful information—not a personal failing—and transform it into greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, wise boundaries, and compassionate connection.
These competencies form the essence of the TURNAROUND TEACHER: an educator whose grounded Presence and relational intelligence create the conditions for student safety, belonging, and optimal learning.
The Light You Cast™ | The Grounded {NEW} Teacher is a research-based SEL and dispositional development training designed to support, sustain, and retain new and early-career teachers, those most vulnerable to burnout and turnover within the first 5 years of teaching.
Grounded in CASEL’s core SEL competencies, the principles of The Light You Cast™ Rest, Restoration, and Revitalization, and culturally sustaining teaching and relationship practices, this training helps new teachers:
Regulate stress and strengthen their emotional intelligence and well-being from the very beginning
Create positive SEL climates that enhance belonging and readiness to learn
Improve their capacity for co-regulation and relational connection with students
Prevent the onset of burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury while strengthening retention, improving school stability and community health
Navigate the Attitudinal Phases of teaching with flow; not freeze, fawn, flight or flee reaction
"These groups served as a nurturing space of mutual support. Our sessions equipped me with practical tools to navigate the challenges of teaching and also instilled within me a profound sense of purpose and interconnectedness."
Middle School Teacher
IN-PERSON, On-Site
TLYC | Communities of Practice
Caring for our caregivers is our purpose.
We use people-centered care practices to create protected spaces where human-service professionals can connect, process stress, and restore balance.
Each 60–90 minute TLYC | CoP session engages staff in embodying the core competencies of mental health and well-being that prevent burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion and fuel self-empowerment, self-advocacy, and self-awareness.
TLYC | CoP Format
REST
Regulate Nervous System
Gather in circle, check-in, engage a somatic body movement practice designed to soothe the nervous system, release tension, ground overwhelm, enhance mood, and renew energy in the physical body.
RESTORATION
Process & Make Meaning
Discuss a foundational concept of the core curriculum, apply the concept to a current stressor, and engage our signature Burn Balanced Cognitive - Behavioral Process to create collective meaning, gain insight, and produce collective widsom.
REVITALIZATION
Connect with Self and Others
Close the circle by providing time for individuals to share what they are taking away and brainstorm boundary setting practices that protect and insulate one's mental and emotional health from external stressors.
What they look like in practice
The Light You Cast™ Communities of Practice (TLYC | CoP)
are 60 or 90 minute, in-person guided support circles that engage core principles and practices of The Light You Cast™ curriculum in an informal, practical, and personal way.
OPT-IN | Attend one, Attend some, Attend many
ON-GOING | Weekly, Bi-Monthly, Monthly
ON-SITE | After school/work, PD days
GUIDED | Facilitated by Jen or your own site-based The Light You Cast Communities of Practice GUIDE.
Become a GUIDE!
The Light You Cast™ CoP | GUIDEs are coached and continually supported in how to create and hold structured, 60, 75, or 90 minute, small group communities of practice circles (or one-on-one mentoring support) at your school site, in your district, or at your organization.
The Light You Cast™
Communities of Practice
TLYC Communities of Practice | GUIDE training series is ideal for site-based school or staff counselors, teacher mentors, leaders, or mental health professionals who want to deepen their personal mental and self health practices and who want to create spaces for their peers to feel the power of community health and healing.
INTERACTIVE 18 hour
training at your site
COHORT Model
INDIVIDUALIZED Mentoring
ONLINE Library of Resources
ON-GOING Support and Coaching
GUIDE TRAINING
Investment Cost
$1000 per participant for a 18 hour training series & unlimited access to the The Light You Cast™ | ON-DEMAND, Self-Paced Curriculum for 1 year.
-- SPECIAL COMBO PRICING --
If your district, building, or organization already have a license to the The Light You Cast™ | ON-DEMAND curriculum, it is $500 per person for the GUIDE train-the-trainer program.
*Gather a group of interested individuals at a school site or your organization and receive a site-based cohort discount. Contact Jen directly.
