For educators, kindness has always been about more than simply encouraging students to “be nice.” It’s about creating classrooms where students feel safe to ask questions, take risks, build relationships, and discover who they are becoming. This became the foundation for LearnKind, kindness.org’s K-8 curriculum. When students understand why kindness matters, they’re inspired to put it into practice.
This idea of a science-first approach to kindness has resonated with educators around the world. Since launching in 2020, during one of the most uncertain moments in education as schools navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, LearnKind has grown into a global community of educators committed to building kinder classrooms. Today, the curriculum has reached more than 500,000 students, supported over 8,000 educators, and is being used across 82 countries. Behind every classroom is a teacher who believes kindness isn’t an “extra”… it’s essential.
One of those teachers is Doretta Martelli, who joined LearnKind as one of our earliest pilot educators. A veteran special education teacher, Doretta had long believed that helping students grow into compassionate people was just as important as helping them grow academically. “Kindness has always been a passion of mine,” she shared. “My mum hammered it into me when I was young.” While some of her middle school students were hesitant at first, she watched their curiosity take over as the curriculum invited them to investigate kindness through science, history, discussion, and hands-on experiments. Even students who began with eye rolls soon found themselves engaged in meaningful conversations and choosing acts of kindness of their own.
What stayed with Doretta wasn’t just the lessons, it was what happened afterward. Students continued referring back to what they had learned throughout the school year, carrying those conversations beyond the classroom. It was that lasting impact that inspired her to remain involved with kindness.org even after retiring from teaching. Today, she serves on the Kindmaker Council, helping champion the mission she has dedicated her career to. As Doretta puts it, “We are overly concerned with academic advances and technological innovations. But kindness? It’s vital for the future success of society.”
Every educator has the opportunity to shape not only what students know, but who they become. If you’re looking for a research-backed, engaging way to build empathy, curiosity, and stronger classroom communities, we’d love to welcome you to LearnKind. Create your free educator account to explore the full K–8 curriculum, or connect with our team to learn more about content partnerships and district adoption opportunities. Together, we can help the next generation discover that kindness isn’t just something we hope for, it’s something we can teach.