[MUSIC PLAYING] The support, the opportunity to learn from and hear from other fellows. We've already gotten so much support from being able to bring ideas that we thought we were just on our own in Boston. And we bring it to a group of 10 other people, and at least half of them are like, oh, yeah, we would do that four months ago. Here's four options. And here's one of them you definitely shouldn't do, and here's why. It just moves you forward, and when you're embarking on an entrepreneurial journey, the ability to catalyze progress is so essential. And that's what this program provides. 

To me it's really about finding people who are courageous, and thoughtful, and dynamic enough to want to take on this charge to open innovative, equity-rich, and deeper learning schools. 

Opening a new school is complex and challenging work in and of itself. Opening a school that's attempting to disrupt the educational climate in which you serve is vastly more complex. And the way that we attempt to support our fellows in doing that work is by helping them build relationships within the community so that they can both better understand the political landscape and also navigate their way through it to make the connections and the relationships they need to do that work. We also support them in developing the language that they're going to use, helping them to talk about their schools, and to help people understand the work that they're going to do, and why that work might suit the children and their community. 

We recognized that where a school needs to begin is just by listening to kids. And we need to begin with what kids are telling us, and then build a school all around that. 

To envision what I had in mind for Orange Mound in Tennessee, and to be able to come to a graduate school, a network of schools that embody and embrace the exact vision of what I've seen years ago, it was really mind-blowing. So to come out here and to see this type of education in operation was just a confirmation that we were doing the right thing for the community back home, where we will be serving. 

And with the design principles of equity innovation and deeper learning, that transcends any type of school model. And what we love so much about the community here at High Tech High is that they're going to help to tailor the learning experience to fit your needs as an adult learner, and also what you need to better yourself. 

I really needed to be able to find myself in the environment where I could really take a deep dive into what's out there, and to be challenged, and to figure out how to put all of these things into practice. And so we spent a lot of time talking about the why. It really allowed me to re-entrench myself into precisely why I was doing this work, and for whom I was doing it. 

It's about us, first, doing the work you need to do within yourself. And it's about that young person, and giving them the best opportunity to be their true, authentic selves, and providing all of the support that is necessary to accomplish that goal. 

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