Choosing Love: Scarlett Lewis Returns to MAS Charter School for Staff Training

The fleeting weeks of summer at Mission Achievement and Success (MAS) Charter School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are anything but idle for school leaders and educators. 

Inside the campus buildings, MAS teams gather to prepare lesson plans and arrange classrooms, as well as to do the deep, reflective work that has become a hallmark of the school’s culture: preparing their hearts and minds for a new year of leading the next generation of student scholars.

This year, that preparation begins with a familiar and powerful presence. Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Jessie Lewis Choose Love Movement, returns to MAS on Monday, July 20, 2025, to lead a morning of professional development that school leaders describe as both inspiring and foundational.

“I’ll be on campus to help kick off the new school year by planting seeds of courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion,” Lewis told us. “The start of the school year is a powerful moment. It’s a chance to set the tone, build connection, and remind ourselves why we’re here: to grow, to learn, and to support one another.”

Lewis’s work is deeply personal. After losing her son Jesse in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, she launched the Choose Love Movement to offer schools and communities a proactive, preventive path forward. Today, the program is active in all 50 states and 135 countries. MAS Charter School was one of the first in the country, and the first in New Mexico, to become a Choose Love Certified School.

Her training on Monday focuses on the Choose Love Formula, a research-based framework that promotes courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion-in-action as core emotional tools for students, educators, and instructional leaders. Lewis will also share insights from neuroscience, HeartMath, and Dr. Joe Dispenza, offering practical strategies for emotional regulation and classroom connection.

“My focus is helping MAS with its ongoing efforts in culture building, where everyone feels safe, seen, and valued. A culture where students learn to manage emotions, educators lead with heart, and families share a common language of love and resilience.”

JoAnn Mitchell, Ed.S., founder and CEO of MAS Charter School, says Lewis’s return is more than a welcome reunion; it’s an important moment for the school community.

“Scarlett’s work has shaped how we think about leadership, instruction, and the emotional and social wellbeing  of our students and their families,” Mitchell said. “We are honored to welcome her back to help set the tone for another powerful school year. At MAS, we believe that when adults are grounded in love and purpose, they create the kind of classrooms where every child can flourish.”

The visit comes during MAS’s summer professional development, a two-week period that runs from July 20 through Aug. 1. While most schools offer just a few days of staff training each year, MAS dedicates extensive time and resources to ongoing development. It’s a central part of the school’s commitment to educational equity and excellence.

Training topics range from social and emotional learning and school logistics to test prep and the variety of expectations that MAS has for all of its 200-plus team members. Coverage of Choose Love, CultureWise, and Teach Like a Champion round out the two-week offering and help team members manage stress and model emotional awareness.

“We hire great people, and then we invest in their growth,” said Mitchell. “That’s why MAS teachers are so prepared and so passionate. We’re here to develop the whole child, and that starts with who we are as educators.”

Though Lewis’s session is a private event for staff, the impact of her work will ripple through the hallways and the MAS community all year long. Her next visit is already planned for October, as MAS continues its leadership in focusing on social and emotional learning and school culture.

“What’s happening at MAS is a model for schools everywhere,” Lewis said. “This is what it looks like when a school community chooses love — and not just in theory but in practice. The result is a place where kids grow up knowing they matter, they’re safe, and they have the tools to face anything life throws their way.”