wheelWISE
where micro-mobility safety education and prevention meets youth leadership development
A New Kind of Crisis for a New Generation: Problem and Solution
Today’s teens are digitally fluent but unready for real-world risks.
Research shows two critical trends affecting schools and families:
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The Soft Skills Deficit: 82% of managers say Gen Z hires lack communication and problem-solving skills. 70% cite teamwork concerns. Increasingly, young people struggle with leadership, empathy, and independent decision-making—just as these are becoming essential for both life and tomorrow’s jobs.
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The Micro-Mobility Safety Surge: As e-bikes and scooters soar in popularity, ER visits among under-15s have more than doubled. Most incidents aren’t simply “accidents”—they’re consequences of risky decisions, knowledge gaps, and missing real-world judgment.
The Crisis:
• 82% of employers cite critical thinking as Gen Z's biggest deficit
• 70% worry about teamwork and collaboration skills
• 65% report gaps in problem-solving abilities
• Youth safety incidents continue rising despite traditional education
The W.I.S.E. Solution:
Our program builds the judgment skills that transfer to every subject and life situation:
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Critical analysis through real scenarios
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Peer teaching that builds communication skills
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Leadership development through community action
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Problem-solving that connects to academic concepts
How We Teach What Matters
At the heart of wheelWISE is our W.I.S.E. (Watch, Investigate, Share, Empower) Learning Model—a proven framework that transforms safety lessons into real-life leadership, empathy, and decision-making skills. W.I.S.E. blends impactful stories, hands-on practice, peer teaching, and community action for skills that last.
Watch
Engage teens through authentic, relatable stories and multimedia that spark curiosity and emotional connection to safety and leadership challenges.
Investigate
Empower learners to develop critical thinking and practical skills through hands-on exploration of safety, technical knowledge, legal literacy, and ethical decision-making.
share
Foster peer-led education where students create and disseminate their own messages, enhancing retention, communication skills, and leadership capacity.
Empower
Transition teens into real-world leaders by applying learned skills in community initiatives, mentorship, and sustained safety advocacy.
Why We Do What We Do
Mission
To bridge curiosity with competence—giving every young person ages 10-18 the progressive mobility education, critical thinking skills, and leadership experiences they need for safer journeys, kinder communities, and the courage to navigate an increasingly complex world.
Vision
We envision a generation ready to embrace every challenge—whether navigating city streets on e-bikes and e-scooters, mastering the responsibilities of driving, or leading positive change in their communities. Young people who approach every journey with empathy, make decisions with independence, and take action with purpose—transforming each ride into a lesson in responsibility, each choice into an opportunity for growth, and each challenge into a platform for courageous leadership.
OUR FOUNDER
"As a mom of five, I live what I teach. Every kid—and family—is different, but empathy, curiosity, and good judgment unite us all.”
North Star Mentors was founded on lived experience. For our founder, Kristy Casiello—a 25-year EdTech innovator and mother of five—the journey from educator to safety advocate was deeply personal. A jaw breaking scooter accident, followed by a garage full of teen boys eager to “hack” their new rides, made clear the urgent need for a new kind of youth education: one that values not just skills, but judgment, accountability, and empathy.
wheelWISE emerged from that moment, blending Kristy’s commitment to learning innovation with her passion for joy and practical wisdom as a parent. The program’s proprietary W.I.S.E. Learning Model (Watch, Investigate, Share, Empower) now delivers measurable gains in safety, social-emotional learning, and independent leadership—proven to reduce incidents, raise peer influence, and prepare youth to thrive as digital natives and real-world citizens.
Help Your Teen Lead with Empathy and Courage
Ready to build your teen’s real-world skills? Download our Core Values Kit family-tested tools for empathy, courage, and positive judgment.
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