Starting on Monday (9/28), many of the changes to the school we shared in our School Assembly on 9/4 will begin to roll out to Lambda students. Today, we want to let you know how these changes will impact you, since they will affect each cohort a bit differently depending where the cohort is in the Lambda School journey.

<aside> 👉 For Lambda students starting Unit 4 on 9/28, here’s what’s new for you:

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Lambda Leadership

Employers are looking for new hires who not only have technical knowledge, but also the ability to communicate clearly and work effectively together on professional teams. Lambda Leadership helps you build your leadership skills, strengthen your technical skills, and expand your network.

What’s changing?

There are two main components to the Lambda Leadership Program that we’re introducing on 9/28:

• Peer Mentorship is designed to give students the opportunity to both be matched with a peer mentor and be peer mentors themselves. Research shows that this type of social learning can help students solidify their knowledge and build critical team skills - and that these specific skills are in high demand among hiring managers in the industry.
• Track Teams are made up of students from each cohort in a track, and will replace the current cohort stand-up groups. On Track Teams, students will rotate into various leadership roles. In most cases, the Track Team will become your Build Sprint team.

<aside> 💡 We’ve been piloting both of these programs for several months, and based on student feedback, we’ve made adjustments such as adding more mentor skills training and refining content for Track Teams.

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<aside> 📚 While we’re rolling out the Lambda Leadership Program this fall, we’re also in the process of doubling our number of instructors across Web and Data Science to provide extra technical support to students. These additional instructors will enable Lambda School to offer additional support hours and thematic Q&A sessions. Instructors will also be available to provide more 1:1 guidance to students who need focused support.

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How this affects you and others starting Unit 4 on 9/28:

• You’ll be assigned a peer mentor who is further along in your track. With your peer mentor, you’ll talk through projects, practice technical interview skills, and get 1:1 support from someone further along in their Lambda journey. You’ll also serve as a peer mentor to someone earlier in their Lambda journey. Before you become a peer mentor, we’ll provide training on best practices to set you up for success.
• You’ll also be added to a Track Team. With your Track Team, you’ll receive leadership training, build team skills, and gain valuable practice on behavioral and technical interview skills during stand-up time in Sprints 1-3.
• Full-time students will receive a Slack message by Monday morning about their Track Teams, peer mentor, and peer mentee. Part-time students will receive a Slack message on Wednesday before class starts.