Immersion • Critical Thinking • Perspective • ACTION

AN IMMERSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

Teaching children to step into

worlds beyond their own


SOLSHIFT logo with a yellow sunburst icon replacing the “O” in green and gray text
SOLSHIFT logo with a yellow sunburst icon replacing the “O” in green and gray text

AN IMMERSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Teaching children to step into

worlds beyond their own


Children learn to see beyond their own perspective and to grasp how far their actions reach, so they can make informed decisions.

Immersion • Critical Thinking • Perspective • ACTION

Teaching Children to
See Across the Divide.

Everywhere they look, children are shown a world made of sides rather than perspectives. SolShift gives them the tools to see beyond their own perspective and to grasp how far their actions reach, so they can make informed decisions.

Orange abstract lizard logo on a white background
Orange gecko-like logo with white cutout markings and a black eye on a white background

Immersion

Children step directly into another’s world, through real encounters and hands-on experience, until it becomes something they have felt for themselves.

Critical Thinking

Then they step back to reason about what they found: how their choices affect others, the systems those others depend on, and how long the effects last.

Immersion without reflection fades. Reflection without immersion stays abstract. The SolShift Method joins them, so that what moves a child also teaches them to think.

We believe the way a child learns to see can change the way they live.

That’s what we built SolShift to do.

The 4-Part Journey

A progressive path from self-awareness to global connection.

Part 1

Recognizing Perspectives


THE FOUNDATION OF SEEING


What is a perspective, and what shapes it? Through hands-on activities, students discover how both our experiences and our biology shape the way each of us sees, and begin to grasp what it means to have a perspective at all.


  • Discover what a perspective really is


  • Explore how our past shapes the way we see


  • Experience being seen through another's eyes


  • Consider what it means to have a perspective

SEL: Self-Awareness

ELA: COMMUNICATION

Metacognition

Part 2

Human

Worlds


WALKING IN ANOTHER'S SHOES


Community members share their lives in their own voices, week after week. Students step into unfamiliar roles, hear what shaped a person, and begin to see how each life is shaped by the systems around it. Real relationships form over time.


  • Meet community members in person


  • Step into a role unlike your own


  • Examine how stories shift depending on perspective


  • Discover how a person is shaped by forces around them

SEL: Social Awareness

ELA: LISTENING

Civic Engagement

Part 3

Non-human Worlds


THE LANGUAGE OF BIOLOGY


Students explore a living ecosystem through the lens of individual animals, learning their biology as a language and what matters to them. Then they meet animals in human care and trace the human systems that shaped their lives.


  • Experience a local ecosystem


  • Sanctuary field visits


  • Learn the language of biology


  • A day in the life of an animal

MN SCIENCE: LIFE SCIENCE

PERSPECTIVE-TAKING

OBSERVATION & INFER

Part 4

Connected Decisions


THE REACH OF EVERY CHOICE


Now the choices are theirs to make. In teams, students design and build something real and testable, then trace every decision: where it came from, who it affects, how the system and the individual change, and how lasting the effects are.


  • Design and create a real system


  • Weigh real consequences


  • Put it to the test


  • Present their reasoning and evaluate that of others

MN SCIENCE: Systems

Ethical REASONING

RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS

Built Around Your Students

Every classroom is different, so SolShift is built around the specific children in the room. The facilitator works one-on-one with each teacher to choose the right modules: identify which voices will most inspire these students and which animals will stretch their comfort zones.

Customized Modules


We work one-on-one with each teacher to choose the right modules for their specific group of kids.

Human Modules

The community members your students meet are chosen for your class, people whose lives will stretch this particular group. That might mean time with immigrants, elders, someone who has experienced homelessness, or a neighbor in recovery, each sharing their story in their own voice.

Field Trips & Immersion


The deepest learning happens outside the classroom. Field trips are core to the SolShift experience.

Non-Human Modules

Students go deep on a local ecosystem they can actually visit, a nearby lake, prairie, or woodland, matched to your class and setting. A sanctuary visit brings them face to face with animals in

human care, so the science connects to a world they know.

Flexible Pacing

Four parts that scale to your calendar, from

a full semester to a focused few weeks.

Field Trips are Core

Real-world experiences ground classroom learning.

Facilitator Led

A dedicated facilitator delivers the program. Teachers partner on design.

Every module: learn the science, enter the world, reflect on what you found.

Pilot Program 2026

We are currently looking for partner schools ready to pilot SolShift. If you are a teacher, administrator, or parent, we'd love to hear from you.

Black check mark inside a circle icon, indicating completion or approval

Built Per Classroom

Black checkmark inside a circle icon on a white background

Expert Delivery

Black outlined checkmark inside a circle icon on a white background

SEL Aligned

Man holding a sleeping pink piglet outdoors at dusk

About the Founder

Niko Stavrou

Founder & Director, SolShift Education Program


Niko Stavrou founded the SolShift Education Program to help children learn to see the world through perspectives beyond their own. Niko spent fifteen years working with aquariums,

diving with animals, building the habitats they live in, and introducing children to marine ecology, and is an experienced instructional designer whose work includes corporate training at Best Buy.


A longtime animal rescuer, Niko has cared for pigs, turtles, and sled dogs, and keeps a rescue turtle pond at home. SolShift grew from a simple conviction: that the way children learn to see the world can change how they live in it.

OUTCOMES

What Students Walk Away With

SolShift reinforces the skills Minnesota classrooms already work to build, developed through real experience rather than worksheets.

Perspective-Taking

Students practice stepping into another’s experience, building cognitive flexibility through sustained immersion.

SEL: SOCIAL AWARENESS • ELA: READING

Pause and Consider

Students learn how their choices affect others directly, through the systems they depend on, and how lasting the effects are.

SEL: SELF- MANAGEMENT • EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

Life Science

Biology and ecology taught through direct encounter. Students learn each species’ biology as a language.

MN SCIENCE STANDARDS • EVIDENCE- BASED REASONING

Evidence & Reasoning

Students observe, make claims, and back them up, building the habit of grounding what they think in what they can show.

SCIENCE PRACTICES • ELA: WRITING

Communication

Group discussion, partner work, and consensus- building. Students practice saying what they see and why it matters.

ELA: SPEAKING & LISTENING • SEL: RELATIONSHIPS

A LASTING IMPACT

SolShift is built on a simple idea: genuine connection, paired with a child’s own thinking, is what makes learning last. The program is designed so that students connect with the people, animals, and places behind an idea and reason through it firsthand, building understanding meant to stay with them well beyond the program itself.

Beyond the Classroom

Black outline globe icon with latitude and longitude lines on a white background

Global Context

Students explore how their own past shapes their perspectives, and why others see the world the way they do.

Black shield with a checkmark icon on a white background

Evidence-Based

We measure what we teach. A five-layer assessment strategy tracks growth in perspective-taking and scientific literacy.

Sunlight shining through green leaves on a tree branch

Get Involved

Be Part of This

SolShift is new, and we’re looking for the right people to build it with.


BRING IT TO YOUR SCHOOL

Teachers and administrators, reach out directly. Parents, share this with your child’s teacher or principal and

ask them to contact us, that introduction is the most valuable thing you can do.


SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Community members are the heart of this program. If you have lived experience that could help children see

the world differently, we want to talk with you.


HELP FUND IT

Support goes directly to learning materials, field trips, and new modules. Every contribution matters.


SPREAD THE WORD

Know a teacher, parent, or community leader who would care? Pass this along. The more people who see

SolShift, the more children we reach.


Orange cartoon giraffe on a white background, standing and smiling with simple white spots.