A former Teach For America Corps Member, Josh Densen had a vision of creating a charter school in New Orleans that was build on 2 pillars: advancing educational equity and creating innovators who can change the world. He knew that in our times, it is important to give children a balance of independence within limits. At Bricolage Academy,…
When Adam Halmos, owner of the largest book publishing companies in Hungary, along with a small circle of influential friends found themselves with the question of where to place their children in the current Budapest school system, they discovered a unified passion: education and its reform. Though all of them had the resources to place…
“Education is the key for solving all your problems.” A son of a political refugee from Vietnam, Davis Nguyen grew up in Riverdale, Georgia, one of the worst neighborhoods around, in a single mom household. He was living on food stamps and welfare and attended a school district that was called “the worst in the…
“If the system isn’t serving you, stop trying so hard.” After 3 years of teaching History outside of DC, Kenneth Danford became frustrated with the system. Instead of blaming it on large class sizes or limited funds, he realized that the biggest problem was having a captive audience. He saw that the real issue when…
“The SAT is such a beautiful test.” Andrew McGlothlin’s father was a terrible student. The only classes he excelled in were chemistry and auto shop. Living in other countries of the world, Andrew believes, his father would’ve been a mechanic his whole life. In the US, however, he got into a university and majored in…
Why 4 walls in the classroom? Why 1 teacher for 28 students? Why this system? Why? Ricky is a student who just cannot sit still. He talks quite often out of turn and disrupts the classroom more than other kids. He’s Carrie Markel’s favorite student, but he’s the one child who’s disturbing the entire curriculum….
“When I was 32 I knew I’d spend the rest of my career in education.” When Tom Vander Ark was asked by his boss to pick a children’s charity and take it to the next level, his life changed forever. He was shocked to see the dire situation in Denver schools, which made him decide…
“I see you and you’re OK and we’re going to be OK.” On Valentine’s Day of 2011, Landon committed suicide. Ricky, Landon’s twin brother, happened to be in Paul Richardson’s class the following year where Landon’s name came up over and over again. Paul noticed his absence in the way his students behaved and expressed…
“Technology is never going to replace the need for great teachers.” One Mother’s Day, Alicia Herald decided to try online dating. Although she wasn’t successful in the love department, her career was thriving. After years of teaching fourth graders in South Central Los Angeles, she had joined the staff of Teach For America as a…
“I think this world will be saved by kids rather than adults.” What if we all truly believed that our children would save the world rather than us adults? What if we allowed our children to experiment, play and educate themselves? What if we educated entire families in a whole new way? Marc Winn is…