Teach Different Method™ Training gives teachers a structured way to lead classroom conversations that build student voice, belonging, and resilience.
Funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services and supported by community partners, the expansion is reaching out to every Illinois region ahead of the Fall 2027 mandates: universal mental health screenings (PA 104-0032) and cell phone restrictions (PA 103-0561).
See how the original IDHS grant built this system · Teachers trained in structured conversation strengthen student belonging, voice, and mental health resilience before the mandates take effect.
After New York’s first phone-free school year, teachers statewide reported that students were more active in class discussion and more engaged with their peers (New York State Governor’s Office, end-of-year educator survey, June 2026). Illinois inherits that opening in Fall 2027, when bell-to-bell restrictions arrive alongside universal mental health screenings for grades 3 through 12.
Illinois is not alone; 38 states are moving in the same direction (Education Week state policy tally, 2026). But no device policy teaches students how to talk, and the counselors expected to absorb what the screenings surface are already stretched past capacity.
The Teach Different Method is the missing link: one practice that builds the skill the phone displaced and supports school readiness for both mandates.
Illinois SB1560 mandates annual mental health screenings for grades 3–12 beginning in 2027–28. A landmark step. But a screening only captures distress that already exists. The real question is: how do we prevent students from reaching that point in the first place?
The screening mandate creates a clinical funnel: screen, identify, connect to services. That pipeline is necessary. Teach Different reduces the number of students who need it, operating at Tier 1, inside the classroom, before crisis requires a clinical response.
Many are already the trusted adult a struggling student turns to first. Teach Different gives that devotion a structure: daily conversations inside the lessons they already teach, so every student is heard and counselors can focus where they're needed most.
Statewide trainings reach one teacher per school, who brings a workshop to their entire department, led by Teach Different or the teacher and funded by local sponsors with state grant support. Every member gets method training and a full first year in the worldwide learning community.
Training in the Teach Different Method.
A first year of membership in a worldwide professional learning community.
An optional certificate pathway for teachers ready to go deeper.
What you'll learn
Where you'll keep growing
Educators join a global professional learning community of teachers mastering the art and science of classroom conversation together. Monthly refresher trainings center on a single conversation everyone tries that month, and a library of 140+ ready-to-use plans, accessible by desktop or phone, gives every member something to bring into class tomorrow.
How you'll go deeper
For teachers who want to go further, the certificate program turns the method into a long-term practice. Educators complete three mentor-supported cycles. In each cycle they plan a conversation, run it in their classroom, and reflect on what happened, building skill, evidence, and confidence with every pass.
Each cycle moves through three stages: Plan, Try, and Reflect. Teachers complete
three of these cycles over the course of the certificate program.
Better understood different perspectives
Felt safe sharing thoughts in class
Better able to work through disagreements
TDMT reaches all 38 Illinois Educational Regions within five years, with the mandates arriving at the end of year one. Each new cohort of trained educators is supported before the next region is activated, building a sustainable network rather than a one-time training event.
At least one trained educator in all 38 Illinois Education regions.
Whether you’re funding it, legislating it, partnering with us, or showing up for a school in your community. This is how a generation learns to think clearly and listen well. Tell us how you’d like to engage. We’ll get back to you within two business days.