We were lucky to catch up with Teresa Lasley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Teresa, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I started Instructional Gym, LLC out of my own experience with teacher burn out. A veteran educator for nearly 20 years has given me a wide range of experience and settings that have been both ideal and unfortunately toxic. Understanding that I truly wanted a space that nurtured teachers to thrive in the classroom I found myself ideating over the needs of myself and direct colleagues and used that as the springboard to develop programming that just “made sense.”

However, the larger momentum to move forward with launching Instructional Gym, LLC came out of a graduate study class where I researched and wrote about teacher emotional competency to lead in classrooms. The very things such as familiarity, connection, resources and knowledge that heavily influenced the impact and sustainability of a teacher in the classroom.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always wanted to be a teacher from the time of creating bulletin boards in my bedroom and taking old textbooks from my school. As an artist (theatre) and lifelong learner taking stage in the classroom to develop the minds and perspectives of the students that I have had the opportunity to serve was a natural progression.

I initially wanted to be an example (that looked like the students that I served) of success! That my students understood that their ability to soar to great heights was not determined by anything other than approaching adversity with resilience and seeing the goal and dream through.

I may most proud of my former students return to visit and share how a specific novel, lesson or discussion in class served them beyond that moment. I do not always get to see the benefits of the work firsthand but know the impact that I have had on generations of students is the heart and people work that I have been called to do!

These are the moments that I hope that every teacher has the opportunity to have and reflect upon. Hence, making the work of Instructional Gym critical to bolstering the passion, joy and balance of our teaching. If teachers are in a space where they can flourish so too can our students.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

At the onset of Instructional Gym, LLC which was in the thick of the global pandemic, my professional development was led by the monthly Teacher Wellness boxes that I curated based on the previous research and surveying of my fellow colleagues. This demanded interactions with several vendors with a swift 30 day turn around as I was provided the boxes monthly, From local business which I continue to highlight even now to vendors on different platforms that provide items I found the process taxing with often success in the curation but sometimes a “back to the drawing board” to figure out better options in quality and costs.

The Teacher Wellness Box – a subscription program began with a mapping out of the year and themed boxes from Thrive – a box featuring items that served as constant reminders as to why we are doing the good work to our most recent box which prioritizes REST.

I have since moved from monthly to quarterly to now biannually to ensure the integrity of the boxes – something I am truly proud of.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My reputation is built on my longevity as the front line of education. I have served in multiple positions and school districts and the lessons through experience are gold. When I speak to teachers I am anchored in the work and relatable to the current state of what is happening and what is not.

Contact Info:

• Website: instructionalgym.com (under construction)
• Instagram: instructional_gym

Image Credits

Teresa Lasley, Founder and Managing Director of Instructional Gym, LLC