A New Conversation

We partner with individuals, classrooms, schools, and organizations to foster new conversations and a new vision for schooling at the local and national levels.

Here we share the stories from students, educators, parents, leaders, and community members across the country. Each story is an expression of an individual's hopes, fears, joys, and aspirations. Each story is unique and powerful on its own. Together they are the collective dreams of a nation.

We hope you will enjoy browsing and sharing your thoughts. You can search for your state, or people you know by using the search bar. Intrigued, Inspired?! Sign up to be a Catalyst!

Share the stories of your community

Bri, Haley, & Gussie, 11th Grade Students, UT

Bri, Haley, & Gussie, 11th Grade Students, UT

To adults in general: Don’t treat teenagers like they're stupid. We are becoming adults and they treat it like it's an overnight thing when you turn 18, but it's not. It's a transition. We are in that transition where we went from being children, where we rely on our parents 24/7, into adults where we rely on ourselves. But, by treating teenagers like they're stupid or they don’t know what they're talking about - sure in some instances we don't, but in an environment where we push college and growing up and encourage getting a job or good grades so much, we grow up a lot faster than adults think. This is our reality. We’re not as young and dumb as you think.

School SpotlightREENVISIONEDSeptember 29, 2016slcse, UT, StudentComment

Ilana, Research Assistant, TX

Ilana, Research Assistant, TX

"It’s interesting because it depends on the way that you think what makes a good citizen. Do they need to be educated, or do they need have their shit together, respect for other people, empathy, etc...and then will that in turn make them better citizens and voters?"

Nicole HenselSeptember 29, 2016Comment

James, Middle School Science Teacher, Father of 2, UT

James, Middle School Science Teacher, Father of 2, UT

The whole system is designed towards certain kids. I think about my own experience in going to school—there were hardly any kids that had an ethnicity that was from a Spanish-speaking, or African-American background. I remember some kids, but very few. I didn’t think about it at the time, but not as an adult I think, “How did they survive? How did they come out of that? Did they come out on top?”

School SpotlightREENVISIONEDSeptember 29, 2016NV, schoolstour, slcseComment

Sydney, Ph.D., Science Teacher, UT

Sydney, Ph.D., Science Teacher, UT

Based on the other teachers I know in other schools, they aren’t given the freedom to try things and fail. Some of my better lessons come from a crappy one before. Principals and admin elsewhere think they know best, and try to tell teachers in what order content should be taught, and what experiences are acceptable or not acceptable - they don’t let teachers experiment and see works and what doesn’t.

School SpotlightREENVISIONEDSeptember 29, 2016slcse, schoolstour, Teacher, UTComment

Matthew, Assistant Principal / AP Physics Teacher, Father, UT

Matthew, Assistant Principal / AP Physics Teacher, Father, UT

Our slogan at SLCSE is “change reality” and it came from Anthony. His senior year, Mr. Madden, the principal at the time, was in talking to that class – I think they were seniors – talking about post-graduation options. And Anthony made the comment, “you know we aren’t all going to graduate. We aren’t all going to make it – that’s just the reality of it.” And Mr. Madden said “well, then let’s change reality.” It kind of stuck.

School Spotlight, Education LeaderREENVISIONEDSeptember 29, 2016slcse, schoolstour, UTComment

Emily, Undergraduate Student in Human Biology, CA

Emily, Undergraduate Student in Human Biology, CA

"I supposedly went to one of the best schools in the world and I felt like I got very little out of it. I felt a sense of shame because I didn't take 5 advanced placement courses or go to one of the top schools in the country. When everyone gets accepted to schools, they would list all of the colleges everyone went to--Brown, Stanford, etc. And then they listed my school, which was misspelled. They never expressed that it’s okay to not go to one of the top of schools in the country."

Catalyst, InterviewsNicole HenselSeptember 18, 2016CA, StudentComment

Lisa, Sociology Graduate Student, CA

Lisa, Sociology Graduate Student, CA

Education specifically is something that’s similar to parenting, where everyone thinks that, because they went to school, or because they had a parent, they are somehow experts. So it’s like “Oh, it went fine for me, that’s proof enough that it works.”... People spout a lot of opinions as fact, without a lot to back it up with.

InterviewsTamar KrepsSeptember 14, 2016CAComment

Jeff, Co-Founder of Transcend, Father of 2, NY

Jeff, Co-Founder of Transcend, Father of 2, NY

Some people would blame the teachers, some people would blame poverty, some would blame our values as a country, some people would blame unions, some would blame the “corporate reformers,” or charter schools, etc. My main feeling is that everyone’s right in some respects, but all of our views are also incomplete. In our field, we’ve had so much focus on ‘why not’ that I think we’re better off working on how we all can think differently about what’s possible for the future.

Interviews, Education LeaderErin RaabSeptember 6, 2016edleader, founder, NYComment

Parke, Mother of Two, CA

Parke, Mother of Two, CA

What I see is a lot of little things being addressed but the whole child outcome isn’t really changing. That’s a common view with people I talk to. It’s highlighted in this area: there’s a huge percentage of kids who just don’t make it through, or they make it through and then what? What is the path? If there’s no path that helps them to that life of choice and independence and healthy relationships, then what has been the point of the 18 years?

Catalyst, InterviewsErin RaabAugust 31, 2016mother, CAComment

Katrina, Executive Assistant, Artist, Mother of 2, MN

Katrina, Executive Assistant, Artist, Mother of 2, MN

I want them to appreciate that financial security can give them an element of freedom in their lives, while also recognizing that buying things isn’t where that joy is going to come from. Another way to look at it is that stability starts with balance. So really, a balanced life is what I want for them.

Interviews, CatalystErin RaabAugust 31, 2016MN, motherComment

Kiel, Physicist, IL

Kiel, Physicist, IL

The useful lesson was that you’re not just consuming a world created by other people – you’re living in a world that you’re creating and what you create is just as good as what other people are creating. That really affects my life – feeling like you’re creating parts of the world with people around you, not just living in a world created by others.

Catalyst, InterviewsErin RaabAugust 30, 2016ILComment

Tamar, Professor of Management, Mother of 2, UT

Tamar, Professor of Management, Mother of 2, UT

I think that school should make them feel comfortable thinking about what a good life is for themselves, and encourage them to value their own perspective on what it means to be successful, and pay attention to what it is that makes them feel the most satisfied. That doesn’t mean necessarily that school will allow them to feel satisfied all the time, but it should help them understand how to listen to that within themselves.

Interviews, CatalystCrystal ArrizonAugust 30, 2016mother, UTComment

Maren, Educator, Mother, CA

Maren, Educator, Mother, CA

I would like an education system in which we would have space for kids to develop at their own pace without being labeled, where kids could pursue and explore various different things, where they weren’t bound to desks and could be doing all kinds of other things, where they could have a democratic sense of the world around them - with a voice and a stake.

Interviews, Education LeaderErin RaabAugust 24, 2016CA, Teacher, edleader, motherComment

Ann, Retired Medical Technologist, NM

Ann, Retired Medical Technologist, NM

Shouldn’t that be the goal of education?....To make you grow up – and become a productive adult member of society. At the time you finish college or whatever school experience you want to do, that’s what you should be – someone who’s contributing to society.

Catalyst, InterviewsErin RaabAugust 21, 2016NM, Retired, LGBTQComment

Noah, Researcher, Father of 2, CA

Noah, Researcher, Father of 2, CA

We essentially decided it was better to have her happy in one language than unhappy in two...

We felt like the most important thing a school can do is keep alive her sense of curiosity and sense of enthusiasm for learning. Which, I think, most kids at that age have. There’s a natural joy to most five and six year-olds. They like to play and enjoy engaging in new things. If the school can keep that alive in them and not “school” it out of them, we figured that would be the best possible thing.

InterviewsErin RaabAugust 20, 2016Father, CAComment

Sasha, Bio-Engineer, CA

Sasha, Bio-Engineer, CA

Your education is not just facts – those change all the time – especially when your career is on the edge of science. In 2-3 years, everything I know will be outdated, but the mechanism of how I got to the knowledge I have now is what’s valuable.

Interviews, CatalystErin RaabAugust 20, 2016CA, ScientistComment

Daniel, Founder of Under A Tree, NJ

Daniel, Founder of Under A Tree, NJ

That’s the hardest part of it all: It’s not mean people making these decisions to hurt kids, it’s good people, decent people, people who genuinely believe themselves to be doing the right thing who are all kinds of caught in the system where they’re having to mediate and turn the same crank because of the consequences. ... That’s where the struggle is. It’s not between good people and bad people, it’s between all of us as just people trying to do the best we can and having very, very different opinions about what that looks like.

Interviews, Catalyst, Education LeaderErin RaabAugust 17, 2016edleader, NJ, FounderComment

Jack, Teacher, CT

Jack, Teacher, CT

"You want them to be academically successful. But, part of that skill building is ideally helping them become good people. Somebody who is an activist and an advocate for those people on the fringes, somebody who doesn’t shy away from saying the unpopular thing even though it’s the right thing."

Nicole HenselAugust 10, 2016Teacher, Northeast, CT, Private SchoolComment

Stephanie, Law Student, NC

Stephanie, Law Student, NC

"I think the idea of the “standard child” or the “baseline child” or test score ranges...that’s all very limiting. It doesn’t leave room for the unique child, which is probably what we would be better off having. I think everything is so standardized and when you do that, you take away what’s on the fringes. What’s on the fringe is often times the most vibrant and most powerful.”

Nicole HenselAugust 10, 2016Graduate Student, Lawyer, South, NCComment

Eric, Philanthropic Program Officer, CO

Eric, Philanthropic Program Officer, CO

I just don’t think any two students learn the same way, even identical twins. As an identical twin, Chris was always much better in numerical subjects and I actually was better in science and he was just a way better test taker. He was the first one done and he was the top of the class, and I would not be. Chris got better grades than me and typically in classes that had more tests he did a lot better. The grading system made it so that there is a very explicit comparison point between my brother and I.

InterviewsDevanie HelmanJuly 27, 2016COComment