"Sam: We need to be intentional in expressing what we’re trying to build. When teaching at a college prep high school, everyone had to take the ACT. Student dissatisfaction was really high, and student mental health was really low. It was extremely heartbreaking, and there were a number of student suicides while I was there. Sure, many kids got into college, but a lot of them didn’t end up graduating. There was a culture of challenge with no sense of direction.

That’s a story I would start with when speaking with parents. This school really didn’t prepare students for the next step; so, instead, we want to promote and instill lifelong learning in our students.

The second piece would be that in our model, it’s very tailored to what the student wants and needs. For us, it’s much more intentional about where they want to go and who they want to become—and how we can continuously support that.

Nathan: When we’re having these conversations with parents, they want what’s best for their kids. As a parent myself, I want what’s best for my kids. I start by asking: What do you want to get out of your child’s experience? Why do you want them to go to college? What is the desire behind that? What future do you want for them?

We can support any one desire you have for your child, and it starts with empathy, so that’s the first thing for me.

The second one is much more about describing how we as a society have accepted that school is about consuming content and hoping that leads to inspiration. In our model, we’re starting with inspiration and then infusing content around curiosity and passion. To me, leading with inspiration is way more powerful. The skills and content knowledge are going to follow. If you get kids learning something they care about, they can’t not learn—it’s impossible."
Q&A   05 NOVEMBER 2019
BY NATHAN STRENGE, EXPLORATION HIGH SCHOOL, AND SAM NEISEN, EXPLORATION HIGH SCHOOL

2016

2015

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