Wisdom at Work Fellowship

A two-year executive education fellowship that equips and empowers school leaders and their teams to promote flourishing communities.

Program Participants

The Wisdom at Work (WaW) Fellowship is designed for teams of 4–6 school leaders who are deeply committed to the flourishing of their school communities but often find that daily demands make that vision hard to realize. Participants have come from diverse K-12 settings, including traditional school districts, independent schools, and charter schools across the U.S & abroad.

BENEFITS:

  • World-class wisdom-based executive education

  • Opportunity to participate in a research-practice partnership 

  • Gaining a networked community of practice of like-minded leaders

  • Fellows earn a stipend for participation

Program Focus

There’s a powerful connection between leading with practical wisdom and promoting flourishing in school communities. This executive education program, Wisdom at Work: Revitalizing School Leadership seeks to illuminate and leverage that connection, refining the practices and protocols that guide practically wise and formative decision-making especially amidst the daily difficulties and stresses school leaders face. Implicit in every decision is an opportunity which can be harnessed to promote character, community, and flourishing in school communities. 

In our multi-year, interactive program, school leaders will be equipped with practical wisdom, or the ability to align noble aims with practical action for the good of all. Leaders will learn both why and how to achieve the grand goals, creating transformative environments in their schools. School leaders will be trained on the Practical Wisdom Framework, which has been developed for over 20 years in a real school. 

““This is better than AI. This is the kind of wisdom you need when the world is volatile and unpredictable, and everything is people-centered.””
— 2024 Wisdom at Work Fellow

Program Experience 

Over the course of two years, participating teams will receive iterative, interactive, and personalized professional  formation. Through 11 full-cohort “Wisdom Lab” meetings, individual school team-meetings and ongoing opportunities for development, teams will benefit from expert guidance and ancient wisdom fit for a modern school. The sustained and relational format fosters shared learning and collective problem solving as teams:

  • Learn and apply a practical, wisdom-driven leadership framework

  • Receive personalized coaching to navigate real-time school based challenges

  • Join a supportive community of peers for shared learning and growth

WaW empowers leadership teams to lead with mission-aligned clarity, purpose, and agility—so their schools become places where both students and staff can thrive.

Unlike one-off online courses, Wisdom at Work is designed for sustained, relational learning. School leaders participate in teams from their own schools, bringing real-time leadership challenges into the program. Over two full academic years, they engage in a carefully sequenced series of high-touch, interactive modules—not static or self-paced, but synchronous workshops facilitated live by the project team. This structure fosters cohort learning, collective problem-solving, and shared leadership practice in a broader Community of Practice.

 

Leader

Karen E. Bohlin, EdD is Director of the Practical Wisdom Project at the Abigail Adams Institute and a Research Affiliate at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program. A seasoned educator and school leader, she brings over 30 years of experience in secondary and higher education, including serving as head of Montrose School, where she led a nationally recognized character and leadership initiative.

An internationally respected voice in character education and applied virtue ethics, Dr. Bohlin is co-author of Building Character in Schools and developer of tools like The Courageous Dialogue Toolkit for school leaders. She has consulted with ministries of education, shaped national policy, and co-founded the Kern Partners in Character and Educational Leadership.

As Director of the Practical Wisdom Project, Dr. Bohlin leads the Wisdom at Work Fellowship (previously titled “Practical Wisdom for Agile Leadership”), equipping school teams with the mindset and practices to lead flourishing schools. A dynamic speaker and mentor, she continues to support educators through executive coaching, on-site PD, and communities of practice across the country.