As the Director of Academics at our Innovation School, could you share how your role contributes to fostering a culture of innovation and academic excellence among our students?
The first thing that comes to mind is studio development. At NuVu, we reinvent most of the curriculum each year, which ensures that our students are engaging with the big questions the world is facing right now. Leading the annual studio development process is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. Luckily, our coaches are amazing people with wide-ranging interests and talents, so I know that they’ll always be able to design compelling opportunities for students to grapple with complex ideas. As a team, we put a lot of work into looking at topics from new angles and creating space for students to think outside the box instead of simply replicating what others have already done.
The work that we’ve done in recent years around building clear milestones for each studio is one way to ensure that we’re setting the bar appropriately high. I also think that our work to connect with clients, partners and outside experts has helped us fold more authentic accountability into studios. When our students are redesigning exhibits for The Discovery Museum or designing housing for previously incarcerated women in Oakland, they know that real people are counting on them to take the work seriously.
Another part of my job involves keeping an eye on what other forward-thinking schools and colleges are doing. As we began the process of developing studios for next year, I asked coaches to look at some courses from the Experimental College at Tufts and NYU’s graduate program in Interactive Telecommunications for inspiration; both of those programs do a great job of exploring issues that don’t fit cleanly into a single discipline. While I know that NuVu is doing some of the most innovative work in education, I also know that we can learn from other institutions.
In what ways do you support students in exploring and pursuing their passions and interests through academic programming and opportunities at our school?
I love working with families to design individualized plans that align with each student’s future goals. This includes offering advice about which studios to take, what sorts of Open Innovation projects to pursue and which supplemental courses to sign up for. It’s always fun to put my teaching hat back on during Block 2 and help students with calculus problem sets, offer feedback on essays, or collaboratively debug some code.
Many students have reached out for support around internships and summer programs, and I’m always happy to offer advice, share ideas and write recommendations. The fact that we have such an incredible network to tap into is helpful; I know that many parents have shared connections with Juliette, so if a student tells me that they’re interested in talking to someone with biotech experience, for example, I can usually suggest several options.
