About WheelWISE · A NorthStar Mentors Program

Why this work exists.

We believe young people are not reckless — they are underprepared. In a world that keeps accelerating, the most protective thing we can teach is judgment. wheelWISE exists to build it, starting with the wheels already under them.

Created by NorthStar Mentors and powered by the WISE Framework, wheelWISE helps schools, public safety partners, and driver education providers build judgment before risky habits take hold.

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Kristy Casiello

Founder, NorthStar Mentors / WISEnest / WheelWISE
Illinois

LinkedIn → info@wheelwiseteens.org

Founder

An educator who saw an emerging public health gap — and built a framework to close it.

Kristy Casiello is a K–12 education and education-technology strategist with 25+ years across the field. She founded NorthStar Mentors to address a problem she watched arrive in real time: young people stepping into speed and independence — on e-bikes and scooters — faster than anyone was preparing them to handle it.

The turning point was personal: a scooter accident in her own family, and teenagers openly comparing how to hack their new rides. What she saw was not recklessness. It was a readiness gap — an emerging public health problem hiding in plain sight.

Most kids are not reckless. They are underprepared.
The WISE Framework was built from that distinction.

Read: Why We Built WISEnest →

The Gap

Independence moved earlier. Readiness did not.

Middle school students are navigating e-bikes, e-scooters, shared roads, speed, peer pressure, and public-space decisions years before formal driver education begins.

Most safety education still reaches them too late, too briefly, or only after something goes wrong.

WheelWISE was created for the missing middle: grades 6–8, when independence is expanding, habits are forming, and students are still young enough to practice better decisions before the stakes get higher.

What changed

Students move differently

E-bikes and scooters give young riders speed, range, and road exposure before driving age. The infrastructure of independence arrived without the preparation to match it.

Risk arrives earlier

Students face traffic, judgment calls, peer pressure, and shared-space decisions before formal readiness systems begin. The exposure window opened; the preparation window didn’t.

Practice is missing

Rules alone are not enough. Students need guided rehearsal for real situations before they meet them alone — at speed, with friends watching, and no one there to coach them through it.

The Reality

The gap is measurable.

~30×

Rise in youth e-bike injuries since 2017 (JAMA Surgery)

<5%

Of school districts have a structured micromobility safety program

Grades 6–8

When independence expands before driver education begins

Sources: JAMA Surgery (2024) · CPSC NEISS · Education Week (2026). Updated July 2026.

Our Method

A framework for better decisions under pressure.

WheelWISE is powered by W.I.S.E., NorthStar Mentors’ decision-making and character framework. It gives students a simple way to slow down, read the situation, understand the risk, communicate clearly, and act with responsibility.

Open interactive version with full detail ↗

W.I.S.E. Learning Model

W Watch — notice what is happening

I Investigate — understand what matters

S Share — communicate clearly

E Empower — act responsibly

W.I.S.E. Character Framework

W Wonder — stay curious before judging

I Integrity — choose what is right

S Service — consider the impact on others

E Empathy — respond with care

This is what makes WheelWISE more than safety instruction. Students practice the judgment behind safer choices.

Explore the Full Interactive Framework ↗

Built for Implementation

Structured enough to build habits. Flexible enough to fit real schedules.

WheelWISE runs across 12 structured sessions designed for schools, public safety partners, and driver education providers.

The program is built for practical delivery: no new department, no complicated staffing model, and no one-time assembly approach.

Students work through real scenarios involving traffic, speed, helmets, peer pressure, distracted riding, shared roads, and the choices that shape how they move through the world.

Sessions

Modules

6–8

Grade Range

What students practice

Traffic awareness

Helmet decision-making

Speed and risk judgment

Peer pressure scenarios

Distracted riding

Shared road behavior

Local laws and ordinances

Battery and fire safety

Community responsibility

PSA creation and advocacy

Delivery Paths

One readiness system. Three ways to deliver it.

WheelWISE is built for the organizations already responsible for student safety, prevention, and youth development.

Schools & Districts

A readiness program for students already on the move.

Fits health, PE, advisory, enrichment, or after-school settings without requiring a certified instructor. Designed around how schools actually operate.

See the School Program →

Public Safety

Prevention students can practice.

Police, fire, and SRO partners can sponsor, co-host, or lead WheelWISE in school and community settings — prevention-focused, grant-aligned, and department-brandable.

See Partnership Models →

Driver Education

Reach future drivers earlier.

A natural pre-driving program that builds judgment, safety habits, and awareness 2–4 years before permit age — and a pipeline for driver education providers.

See the Driver Ed Program →

Free Resource

Modern Youth Mobility & Readiness Brief

A professional overview of the youth mobility readiness gap for school administrators, safety leaders, grant reviewers, and community partners.