Training Resources

Host training

Host training prepares students and adults to lead the conversations themselves. It's optional: you don't need it to use Polaris or to get started, and anyone can log in and share feedback without it.

It's worth the time when you want young people more involved in the process. Conversations tend to run richer when students help lead them, and the students who host come away with real ownership of what the listening turns up. The tradeoff is coordination: recruiting and supporting student hosts is one more thing to plan around.

The full library lives at pd.humanrestorationproject.org, free for any team to use and adapt.

What the training covers

A session runs about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Hosts come out of it comfortable with:

• Holding a meaningful conversation
• Following up with questions that encourage people to share more
• Using the Polaris app to record and submit an interview

Districts and youth organizations are welcome to adapt the materials into the professional development or student leadership programs they already run.

How many conversations a host should lead

Cap each trained host at four conversations a day and twelve total. Back-to-back interviews flatten the listening.

A bigger sample gives you a more complete picture. Here's what recruitment looks like across different sized organizations:

On-site or virtual training with our team

If you'd rather not run the training yourself, the Polaris Education team can lead live sessions with students and adults, either on-site at your organization or over video. It's an interactive workshop drawing from the same library. Our trainers run the practice rounds and adapt the examples to your district.

This is a paid add-on. We plan and deliver the training, so your staff can spend their time on recruiting hosts and scheduling conversations. Contact us to set up a session.