Invented – Guided – Powered
by a Kyrene Teacher

But as a teacher, I was faced with the age-old education problem of “never enough time”. With so much being asked of our students and teachers, so often the first things to get cut from the classroom are science and creative projects.

One answer to “never enough time” was to actually create more time. I started designing extracurricular classes that melded important academic content with cutting edge tools and engaging activities. As long as they were hands on and interactive, kids would be able to engage deeply with the content in an after school and summer setting, thus giving us “more time”.

I also saw the kinds and quality of the classes being offered after school at my campus and in summer programs. The problems were glaring: same classes being offered over and over for years, too many kids in the class, and instructors that were college age or couldn’t manage a classroom.

The answer to this one is so simple, use cutting edge tools with academic curriculum, keep student/teacher ratios low, and employ real teachers with classroom experience. The class content can be learned by our teachers relatively quickly, but classroom management and the ability to question and push kids’ thinking is a skill we hone for our entire careers.

Anyway, the rest is history. Hope to see your nerd in a class soon!