Beyond the Classroom
How a Media-Based School Became a National Movement for Educational Equity
In 2005, a nonprofit organization called Sound of Mind, Inc. was established by three friends: Nadav Zeimer , bo blanton , and Michael Vav . These friends had previously served together on the board of a popular creative events collaborative and had developed a digital platform for decentralized media production. Their mission was to bring hyper-local radio production to local settings such as schools and community centers, even before podcasting became a common term.
During that time, internet connectivity was still reliant on modems, making large audio files and streaming problematic. When they approached NPR affiliates with their locally produced content, they were met with skepticism. However, undeterred, they distributed their content on a CD-magazine called “ProtoCALL,” which allowed creators to call in and leave responses to prompts. The first issue, “The Science of Belief,” was a success.
Sound of Mind, Inc.’s CD-Magazine protoCALL “The Science of Belief”
Meanwhile, Nadav Zeimer who was a physics teacher in Downtown Brooklyn, NY, had already introduced podcasting into his classroom since 2003. His students recorded explanations, conducted interviews, and created class podcasts to consolidate their learning. When Mr. Z became a robotics coach, he enlisted kate epstein to bring video into the robotics lab, resulting in a documentary about the team. The following year, the team achieved first place, surpassing all public and private schools in the NYC area.
In 2010, Principal Z proposed the idea of a media-based school to New York City officials, including Shael Polakow-Suransky. The NYC Department of Education appointed Principal Z to lead a failing transfer school in Central Harlem to test these ideas with disengaged youth. Within just 18 months, the school transformed into a top-rated learning institution. This transformation was attributed to the EXPO events held three times a year, where academic video content showcasing the learning journeys of graduating seniors was showcased. The school received recognition for its youth media innovation from organizations like PENCIL [Sougata Dasgupta Lindsay Heinlein] as well as Iesha Sekou, Inez E. Dickens and Gale A. Brewer.
In 2015, a new nonprofit called “Friends of Harlem Renaissance High School, Inc.” was established to ensure that project-based learning would be fully funded at this specific school. [Ruben Gonzalez Henri Palacci Jed Cohen Soulaymane Kachani Safiya Raheem (she/her/hers) Aziz Hassanali Ellen Barry Elizabeth West Niedringhaus] Students presented their best work at EXPOs, knowing that an authentic audience, including their own community, would appreciate their efforts. Donors were inspired by the hundreds of student videos and recordings, leading to ongoing support for programming.
In 2021, the organization faced new challenges and formed a new board to scale from a single school to a national platform, renaming the organization Academic Capital Foundation, Inc. [Darion Allen Jinyue (Emma) Yuan Sahil Gaba Melissa A. Mann Jed Cohen]. In line with pandemic practices, they transitioned from brick-and-mortar to online. Principal Z resigned from his role as an active principal to lead the initiative full time.
The key to scaling was ensuring financial sustainability. The team realized the value of data in the digital world, similar to how oil was valued in the industrial world. By collecting high-quality academic data, they would offer subscription API access to the data and use the revenue to compensate experienced educators for evaluating work. The ultimate goal was for the platform, hs.credit, to become self-sufficient.
With hs.credit, any student at any school can earn gold standard credits, similar to those obtained from elite private schools. The platform aimed to provide an alternative for students who wanted to opt-out of standardized testing and showcase their learning agility. Units of #AcademicCapital on hs.credit are 10-minute validated youth media, reviewed by one teacher and three paid experts.
A core team of visionaries met twice a week throughout August 2021. [Jason Lewis, Brad Kershner, Carrie Li, Akash Narayanan, Simone K., Roland St.aude, Howell Winters, Jason Thigpen, Jean Schutt-McTavish, Gil Feliciano, Kevin Michael, Mocha Brown, Sophia Di Paola, James Cooper, Philip Takacs, Elizabeth Simmons (she/hers), Leo Brooks]. Led by HolacracyOne’s Rebecca Brover, MBA they learned the tools of a decentralized organization.
A core team worked tirelessly to lay the foundation for this new endeavor. They designed a digital platform that would replicate the success Principal Z had achieved in his physics classroom, robotics lab, and as a turnaround high school principal. The organization, hs.credit, and the Academic Capital Foundation, Inc., came to life through the dedication of this team and the contributions of key players, including a cohort of college interns [ John Xie, Syed Ali, Sahil Gaba, Duy Tran, Tanuj Dayal, Tzu Ling Chen, Xinyi Liu, Camilo Lima , Jinyue (Emma) Yuan, En Jou (Sophie) Hung].
Now, on the verge of launching the product, the team is proud of their perseverance. They worked as volunteers, prioritizing the interests of students and teachers over personal gain. The launch of the app is eagerly anticipated, as it will determine the scalability of the platform and validate assumptions about opt-out communities and young media artists. Once early adopters start benefiting from the platform, it is expected to gain traction among parents, students, teachers, and universities.
The journey to this point has taken longer than expected, but the team remains enthusiastic. They see a tremendous opportunity to empower young people and are close to fulfilling that vision. Currently, experienced engineers Kevin Giles, CPACC and bo blanton are working to get the app into the hands of young people, with an expected beta launch in 2024.
hs.credit aims to create a non-corporate, non-governmental virtual school district that issues gold standard transcripts to students ready to be creators of academic content rather than just consumers.
