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Nat & Tom | K-12 Consulting Coaches

@unleashyes

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We help experienced educators sign paid consulting contracts with schools and districts.
→ 50+ yrs in ed | 27 countries | 10 books
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You don’t need another motivational message telling you to push harder.

You need a way forward that doesn’t cost you your health or your joy.

The Educator Freedom Lab is for educators who still care deeply about this work, but are ready for more autonomy, income, and space to breathe.

If this carousel put words to something you’ve been feeling quietly…

…use the link in bio to book a clarity call and let’s talk! taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @unleashyes

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10 months ago

OH, and this is important to know…

Nat also once won a city-wide airband competition as Michael Jackson.

And yes, she can still moonwalk. 🕺 taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @unleashyes

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a year ago

BONUS FUN FACT ↓

If Tom wasn’t the educational thought leader he is now…

…he would be a professional chef.

His scallops & lemon risotto is 🤌

#edupreneur #educationalleadership
#schoolleadership #instructionalcoach #secondaryela #teacherleader #educoach #teacherpd #academiccoach #educatorsrock
#edchat #entrepreneur #teacherpreneur #teachersofinstagram #highschoolteacher #middleschoolteacher #englishteacher #teachergram #teacherproblems #teacherspayteachers #educators #educatorsofinstagram #tpt taken in Vancouver, British Columbia by @unleashyes

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a year ago

Sometimes the moment that changes everything isn’t a big, dramatic event.

It’s a conversation that makes you realize how much of yourself you’ve been holding back.

You’ve spent years becoming good at what you do. You’ve built the experience, earned the trust, and developed skills that extend far beyond your job description.

But somewhere along the way, your growth started feeling like a problem instead of something to celebrate.

And you start asking yourself a question you can’t unask:

What is staying here actually costing me?

For Tom, that realization became the beginning of a completely different chapter.

And if you’re an educator who’s been having that same internal conversation, maybe it’s time to explore what’s possible beyond the system.

Follow along and we’ll show you how educators are turning their experience into meaningful work beyond traditional employment. by @unleashyes

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15 hours ago

1. You see patterns beyond your classroom.

You’re constantly connecting individual challenges to bigger systemic issues.

2. Other educators seek your perspective.

Not because of your title, but because they trust your thinking.

3. You’d rather improve practice than manage people.

Your passion is helping educators do better work.

4. You love creating solutions.

But you’re frustrated by how long it takes to get permission to implement them.

5. You want your impact to extend beyond one school.

You have ideas that could help entire teams, schools, or districts.

We’ve convinced an entire generation of educators that leadership means moving up the organizational chart.

But what if your leadership was never meant to look like that?

Leadership doesn’t always mean becoming a principal.

Sometimes it means becoming a consultant, facilitator, coach, or speaker.

Comment COACH if you’re curious about what leadership outside the traditional hierarchy could look like. by @unleashyes

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a day ago

One of the most frustrating parts of transitioning from education into consulting is realizing how much advice out there wasn’t made for you.

You know how to lead professional learning, support teachers, and create change in schools. But turning that expertise into a business? That’s a completely different learning curve.

Between the two of us, we’ve spent 50 years in education, including instructional coaching and district-level leadership. And even with all that experience, we made some expensive mistakes along the way.

We know what it’s like to have the expertise but not the roadmap.

And we wish we’d known then what we know now.

Comment COACH if you’re ready to build an education consulting business without figuring everything out the hard way. by @unleashyes

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2 days ago

1. Your efficiency becomes more work.

Finish something early? Here’s another responsibility.

2. Your expertise becomes everyone’s resource.

You’re expected to support colleagues without the time to do it.

3. Your reliability becomes an expectation.

The exceptional effort you once volunteered is now your baseline.

4. Your boundaries become disappointing.

Saying no suddenly feels like letting people down.

5. Your growth becomes inconvenient.

You’re needed so badly in your current role that moving forward becomes difficult.

Not every school operates this way.

But when it happens, being indispensable can become a trap.

Which one have you experienced? by @unleashyes

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2 days ago

Schools aren’t hiring consultants just because they have impressive credentials or a great presentation.

They’re investing in transformation.

And that’s an important distinction for educators looking to turn their expertise into a consulting business.

Your value isn’t just in what you know. It’s in your ability to help schools accomplish something they couldn’t achieve on their own.

Because you’re not in the workshop business. You’re in the change business.

And understanding that difference is what separates delivering a one-off PD session from creating meaningful, long-term impact.

Comment IMPLEMENT and we’ll send you Episode 55, where we break down what every education consultant needs to understand about creating lasting change. by @unleashyes

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3 days ago

There’s a particular kind of guilt that comes with being good at something you no longer want to do forever.

Because people depend on you.

Your students love you.

Your colleagues come to you for help.

And everyone keeps reminding you how lucky your school is to have you.

So how do you explain that you’re still proud of the work, but you can’t imagine doing it for another 20 years?

You can be grateful for what education has given you and still want something different from your career.

Those two things can be true at once.

Follow us if you’re an ambitious educator trying to figure out what comes next. by @unleashyes

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3 days ago

The longer you stay in an environment that doesn’t value your potential, the more you start to question it yourself.

You stop challenging the status quo. You water down your ideas. Eventually, you stop sharing them altogether.

And for ambitious educators, that’s a much bigger cost than most people realize.

Because the very things that make you feel like you’re too much for your school might be exactly what makes you valuable outside of it.

Your expertise doesn’t disappear when you leave the classroom. Neither does your ability to make an impact.

Sometimes, leaving the system is how you finally get to make the difference you’ve always wanted to make.

Comment READY and we’ll send you our free series on the systems we used to build a successful education consulting business. by @unleashyes

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4 days ago

It’s the moment you finally realize you’re making a difference.

After months, sometimes YEARS, of building trust, facing pushback, and trying to lead change without any real authority…

Things are finally shifting.

The teachers who once pushed back are coming to you for support.

Your ideas are taking hold.

You’re finally seeing yourself as the leader you’ve worked so hard to become.

Then comes the announcement.

Your role is being cut.
Or restructured.
Or rotated.

And just like that, you’re back in the classroom.

Not because you failed.

Not because the work didn’t matter.

But because the system treated your leadership role like a temporary “treat” instead of valuing the skills and trust you’d spent years building.

As though it was just your turn to play leader.

As though the late nights, hard talks, and sacrifices were just part of the job.

As though the progress you’d fought for could simply be handed to someone else.

As though none of it mattered.

And THAT’S the heartbreak.

It’s not about being too good to teach.

It’s about realizing the system may care more about keeping things the same than making real progress.

And it makes you wonder if there’s room for the leader you’re becoming in the system you love.

But before you decide you need to leave education, consider this:

The ability to build trust, win people over, and lead change WITHOUT a fancy title?

→ That’s exactly what independent education consultants do.

They help schools and teachers solve real problems using the skills and knowledge they’ve built.

And there are people willing to pay for that help.

You may not need to leave education to find more impact, income, and independence.

You may just need a new way to do the work you love.

Comment 101 and we’ll show you how education consulting works. taken in Seattle, Washington by @unleashyes

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4 days ago

Some of the most passionate educators have learned that speaking up comes at a cost.

They’ve watched good ideas get dismissed.

They’ve seen colleagues labelled difficult for asking reasonable questions.

They’ve learned that challenging the status quo isn’t always welcomed, especially when it comes from someone without the right title.

And eventually, even the educators who once spoke up about everything start choosing their battles.

Not because they’ve stopped caring.

Because they’ve realized that being good at your job doesn’t always mean your voice will be valued.

But here’s the thing: Wanting better for education shouldn’t make you a problem.

If you’ve ever felt like your passion for improving education has been mistaken for insubordination, you’re not alone.

Follow us for more conversations about the realities ambitious educators face and what’s possible beyond the systems holding them back. by @unleashyes

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5 days ago