There are a lot of programs competing for your district's attention, budget, and trust. Most of them look similar on paper. This page is for decision-makers who want to understand what actually makes us different — and why it matters for your students, your staff, and your results.
Not talking points. Real structural differences in how we work, what we deliver, and what your schools get after we leave.
TERM™ — The Energy Regulation Method — is not adapted from someone else's research. It was developed over 20+ years of direct work with students, educators, and organizations. It's ours. Which means it's yours — consistently, not based on licensing agreements or curriculum updates from a third party.
Stan delivers in English and Spanish with native fluency and cultural authenticity. This isn't a translated curriculum with a different cover. It's the same program, lived from the inside — which is why it resonates with Latinx students and families at a level most programs simply can't reach.
Most SEL programs require you to keep paying for the facilitator. We train your teachers to own the program. Year two costs a fraction of year one. Your staff gets certified, your investment compounds, and you're not held hostage to an outside contract to maintain results.
Salsa Therapy™ isn't an icebreaker. It's a research-backed, nervous-system-level intervention that uses rhythmic movement to regulate stress, build community, and open the brain for learning. When students move together, barriers drop. It's not what we do after the real work — it is the real work.
Stan has worked with K–12 students, corporate executives, first responders, and national conference audiences. He's been a recurring expert guest on national television. He has shared stages with Les Brown, Sean Covey, and Hal Elrod. That range of credibility means he can speak to your board, your teachers, your students, and your parents — and land differently in each room.
The Energy Academy™ is mapped to all five CASEL competencies — the framework your board, your state agency, and your grant funders already recognize. We provide alignment documentation, outcome language, and implementation support so your team can integrate Pearson Institute programs into existing SEL reporting without starting from scratch.
We respect the work of other programs in this space. But comparison is how districts make good decisions — so here it is, honestly.
| What You're Evaluating | Pearson Institute | Typical SEL Programs |
|---|---|---|
| Proprietary methodology | ✓ TERM™ — developed over 20+ years | Often licensed or adapted |
| Bilingual delivery | ✓ Native English & Spanish fluency | Translated materials only |
| Teacher-led after training | ✓ Train-the-trainer certification included | Ongoing facilitator fees required |
| CASEL alignment | ✓ All 5 competencies mapped & documented | Varies by program |
| Movement-based component | ✓ Salsa Therapy™ — evidence-informed | Rare or superficial |
| Published author / resources | ✓ 4 books for students & educators | Third-party materials |
| National TV credibility | ✓ NBC recurring expert guest | Typically absent |
| Public safety track record | ✓ APD, Atlanta Fire Rescue, and beyond | School-only focus |
| Scalable pricing model | ✓ Year 2 significantly less than Year 1 | Annual flat-fee licensing |
If you're a superintendent, curriculum director, college administrator, association executive, or foundation leader who has sat through enough vendor presentations to know the difference between a program and a partnership — this is for you.
Pearson Institute isn't trying to be the biggest name in SEL. We're trying to be the most impactful one for the districts and organizations that choose us.
We take a limited number of district partnerships each year intentionally — so that every school we work with gets the attention, customization, and follow-through they deserve.
A 20-minute discovery call is all it takes to know if we're the right fit. No pressure, no pitch deck — just a real conversation about your students, your goals, and whether Pearson Institute can help you get there.
