The Self-Led Educator: An IFS-Inspired Guide to Create Calm, Compassionate, and Confident Learning Communities

You chose to be an educator because you felt a sense of purpose, a wish to serve—it’s not just a profession.

Teaching is a role that demands emotional presence, relational skill, and boundless energy. If you’re feeling burned out, overwhelmed, and more disconnected from your purpose, then chances are your students are feeling that way too.

In The Self-Led Educator, Joanna Curry-Sartori is leading the movement to help teachers and school leaders use the transformative tools of Internal Family Systems (IFS) to reclaim their love of teaching, work compassionately with their own “parts” to better serve students, and build a resilient and connected community.

Becoming Self-led means that your thoughts, emotions, and actions will be guided by the core Self, rather than your reactive impulses, self-protective tendencies, or desire to people-please. Curry-Sartori will help you identify the root causes of collective stress, student disengagement, and interpersonal conflict at school, while also providing proven tools to prioritize your own mental health and emotional well-being.

Let this powerful book be your guide to becoming a more calm, clear, compassionate, creative, curious, and connected educator. You can lead your school community toward excellence. . . starting with yourself.

Joanna Curry-Sartori, LMFT, is the visionary founder and president of the Self-Leadership Collaborative and leads the global movement to apply the essential wisdom of Internal Family Systems to everyday life—at home, at work, in schools, and in communities.