The Transformative Learning Alliance was formed by HEART, the Peace Learning Center, and Tribes to fill a void we see in teaching social and emotional skills in classrooms and communities. SEL has a profound impact on student achievement: those who feel safe and connected to school and academics excel. Knowing that peaceful, equitable classrooms are possible, we created Everyday Circles, a fun, easy-to-use tool that fosters joy, excitement, and life skills to help students in school and beyond.

In 2018, HEART launched partnerships with Volunteers of America in Los Angeles (VOALA) and Social Compassion to develop and implement a humane education Pre-K SEL curriculum. This curriculum is designed for Head Start programs in the Los Angeles area serving children ages 3-5 years old. Kindness for All consists of seven lessons in an educational resource guide for teachers. The goals of this curriculum are to increase prosocial behaviors, compassion, empathy, understanding of animals, responsible animal care, and environmental protection. HEART has also been training Head Start teachers and staff on the new curriculum so they can implement the humane education programming.

As a collaborative effort with the Indianapolis-based Peace Learning Center, "be the change" is the first-ever, one-of-a-kind humane education museum.  It addresses not only human issues, but also those affecting other animals and the environment we all share.  Since 2015, “be the change” has given participants an inviting space to learn meaningful ways of using their own lives to help other humans, animals, and our environment.

In the true spirit of Gandhi’s notion, “be the change you wish to see in the world,” we turned to repurposed, reused, and sustainable materials to create a series of thoughtful and interactive exhibits for both youth and adults.  Have you ever wondered how much a pound of CO2 really is?   What about the impact of your dinner on pollution or water use?  We have over 30 learning stations that answer these questions and more!  Finding playful and hands-on ways of conveying heavy and overwhelming data and statistics is one avenue we are using to help people make the connections between their everyday actions and the impacts they have on our planet, on animals, and on other humans.  

Through our partnership with the New York City Department of Education’s After School Professional Development Program (ASPDP), we have offered a credit-bearing course for NYC educators since 2009, which qualifies participants toward a salary differential. In our course, A Kinder Classroom: Fostering Empathy and Literacy through Humane Education, participants receive tools and resources for fostering social and emotional learning, and enhancing English Language Arts skills, through humane education content. Here is what some past participants have said about the course:

I wish all of our colleagues could take a crash-course version of this to kick off the school year...It could really help to establish community and citizenship within a classroom, school, or local community.         -Tanae Izumi

I am very happy I enrolled in this course. I think that the information given will be helpful throughout my career as an educator as well as my personal life.      -Justine McBride

I found that all of the videos and lesson plans were really detailed, and incorporating them into my curriculum would provide the students with real-life examples of the humane issues we face in our world. The class was very interesting and it is something I would recommend to my colleagues.      -Carolyn McGowan

Thank you for this amazing course! It was such an important reminder that being a humane person is so much more valuable than anything else!        - Kathryn Sutorius

We partnered with Detroit Public Television (DPTV) and the Humane Society of Huron Valley to conduct a Humane Education Multi-Media Campaign, consisting of 14 television PSAs to help promote the humane treatment of animals to elementary school-aged children. We are pleased to share that the spots aired on DPTV Channel 56, reaching 1.5 million U.S., and 1.2 million Canadian, viewers with our humane education messages.

We offer a joint humane education public service project with the American Bar Association, training volunteer attorneys and law students to teach a four-lesson program on animal welfare to 4th and 5th graders.  HEART and ABA have also co-authored an extensive humane education training manual that has been distributed during HEART workshops with ABA volunteers nationwide, including: California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Washington D.C., and more.