Innovation Education Creating Opportunity

That is our motto and there is a word in there – innovation – that many throw around as a buzzword. We are asking you to Champion our cause so we should tell you what it means to us. From our mission statement: Education is straightforward, we build SMART schools. Creating opportunity is certain because we give local students a great program for zero tuition. Not only that, we figured out a way to feed them and help feed their families.

Innovation: This is not just about inventing gadgets or something they talk about in Silicon Valley. Our civilization is built on millions of discoveries, millions of great ideas made real through hard work. We all stand tall on the shoulders of people who came before us. Some very important innovations are predictable: We have computers so faster computers would be a great thing. We have an engine, making it more powerful and lighter is something we should work on. These are the kind of things we can measure, we can aim for. Our students will get plenty of experience in this sort of incremental innovation.

Then there are the discoveries that no one predicted. The invention of antibiotics changed the world. There were some clues along the way, but when penicillin was finally mass produced bacterial infections that had been deadly could then be treated with an inexpensive med. Millions used to perish every year from simple cuts and scrapes that became infected – no more. Another example is cooling. Ice boxes, then refrigeration and air conditioning are very cool things that were a surprise. In the 1840s the “ice trade” cut blocks of ice from ponds in the United States and shipped them on sailing vessels as far as China and Australia. Wealthy people paid incredible prices to have cold drinks in hot weather.

This story is a chain of innovations. People in the ice trade did not expect refrigerators could be made. Even refrigerator manufacturers did not expect that if you “deep freeze” food at 0° Fahrenheit (-18° Celsius) or below it keeps its texture and flavor. The modern “cold chain” for shipping frozen food, cryogenic medicines, etc. around the planet shapes our societies in too many ways to describe here. Those are transformative, or disruptive innovations and they are difficult to predict.

Our students are assigned a range of STEAM projects that develop their creativity and ability to innovate. Projects give them practical experience and achievements. We don’t know what they will eventually come up with… but our civilization needs every innovator we can find and more. The developing world has generations of young people who could be the next Brown, Curie, Franklin, Jones, Einstein, Lamarr or Latimer.

We need your support. Every school we build is a legacy that changes the world for students, staff and families in need. This is genuine impact that you can see online as it happens. Building a brighter future for generations to come – innovation education creating opportunity – is what we do. Please join our Champions’ Club.