Meet Phoenix Nova School

Speaker 3 0:30

my name's Dr. Frank Monroe. This is my lovely co-director partner. Founder? Yeah.

Speaker 0:37

I'm Dr. Jennifer Krasinski

Speaker 3 0:38

and our school is a Phoenix Nova School. Uh, we are currently a K through eight, uh, adaptive inclusive school that helps children with, uh, all different levels of needs. And we're actually working right now on getting our certification to be able to do ninth grade through high school as well. 'Cause we have a lot of kids who are gonna age out of our K through eight and their parents are like, we want them to stay with you. So we're trying to make, make that a possibility for them.

Speaker 2 1:03

Wonderful. Yeah. I can't wait to just learn more and more about the kids. Yeah. So Frank and Jen, for listeners learning about Phoenix Nova School for the first time, can you share how the two of you met and how that initial connection eventually grew into the work you're doing today?

Speaker 3 1:18

Yeah. It's actually a super fun story. Do you want me to tell it or do you wanna tell it?

Speaker 1:21

Yeah, it is, it has been a crazy journey and, um, Frank, you can tell the story. He loves the beginning of this story, so

Speaker 3 1:28

she, she, she hates my details of this story, but it's a great story. Um. So ironically enough, uh, we didn't meet here. Uh, I lived in Kansas City for the past 15

The Chance Meeting That Sparked It

Speaker 3 1:38

years before moving out here. And, um, I was there one day downtown in the, what's called the plaza area of Kansas City. And, uh, I was drinking a cup of coffee on a bridge that goes over a little river. And I was just kind reflecting and, and talking to God. 'cause I, I was in one of those spots where I was like, what am I doing with my life? Like, I really wanna do something positive. I wanna make the world a better place, but. The path that I was currently on, it was like I was just going through the motions, right? And so I'm, I'm praying to God. I'm like, God, help me figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Like what's my path? And then all of a sudden, uh, I hear this voice and it's, uh, it's not like an angel or anything, but what's, it's Jen. So it's angel esque. Quite

Speaker 2 2:18

similar.

Speaker 3 2:19

Exactly. I turn around, there's this big golden glow of blonde hair and this really tall lady wearing all denim. Uh, which was amazing. That's the part she always shakes her head at. She doesn't remember it, but she was waking this denim jumper and it just was something that stuck with me, but anyways, she had just gotten there the night before and was downtown looking for a shirt, uh, a store to buy a shirt for her sister who was a traveling nurse. And that was the whole reason she was there, was to visit her sister. And so, uh, the store she was looking for was actually a couple blocks away, and I was like, you know what? It's easier if I just show you I'm going that way. Anyway, so we decided to walk and I walked her there and the whole time we're talking and we're, we're talking about like our backgrounds and stuff, uh, my background in theater. And then I find out that she also has a background in theater where she used to run a theater company for kids. Uh, and that's something that I've always been kind of passionate about, is working with kids and, uh, as well as theater. And we started, that's kind of where the seed got planted of, uh, ETC, which was our, our first business educate theater camp. And we, um. We kind of started developing the curriculum then because Jen's background in education, my background in theater, uh, we found that we could use theater to help teach social and life skills to kids who were of different needs levels, right? And uh, that's really where the seed got planted. And then, uh, we got to the store, I was saying goodbye, and she's like, do you wanna grab a cup of coffee? I was like, oh yeah, there's a coffee place like two blocks down. So we walked down there. Uh, we get there and then I'm like, what do you want? And she goes, oh, I don't drink coffee.

Speaker 3:44

Yeah.

Speaker 3 3:44

Super fun times. I

Speaker 3:45

don't know, I don't know why I, I invited you to coffee, but we were having such a great time talking and like you said, this was like. The sparks were flying as in like our ideas, right? Yeah. And this idea of using my background in, in education and special education and in theater and his extensive background in theater and how we can mesh this. And like literally on our first meeting talking about these things. So it just evolved from there. And then, yeah, then he moved out to the east coast.

Speaker 3 4:11

Yeah. Just really fit together. And then, yeah, so we wound up going to my favorite tea place because she did like tea and then, yeah. Um, so yeah. Then the next next few weeks, um, we kind of just. Met for lunch or, or tea anytime that we could. And then she went back to the east coast and we talked on the phone a lot and just kept developing this idea because it was, it was such a special thing that nobody else was doing and we, we thought it could really help. Make a beneficial mark on the world, um, especially for kids. And that's something that we're both passionate about. Um, but everything that happened in our life prior to this kind of led us into these positions. And it was kinda like one of those things where like you find the missing jigsaw piece and it just fits perfectly in the puzzle. And it's like, I was just praying to God like, what should I do with my life? He's like, Hey here. And he is like very adamant with the sign, you know, he is pushing Jen my way.

Speaker 4:59

It was the denim jumper, right?

Speaker 3 5:01

It really was. It was the down jumper. He's like, your answer will come in a denim jumper. And that was it. It was all downhill from there.

Speaker 5:07

But yeah, then we, we moved out here and we were doing, um, the theater, inclusive theater. We created our own curriculum working on social and life skills through theater. And then we were working at a school. Uh, in the area here and doing the theater classes. And unfortunately the school ended up, um, shutting down and the parents of those students were reaching out to us like, Hey, you know, we know that they knew my background in education and they loved, um, what we were doing with the theater company. And they were like, Hey, we need a place for our kids to go. Can you guys.

From Theater Camp To A School

Speaker 5:38

You know, teach them, can you homeschool them or something? And, uh, so in three weeks over winter break, we started the school. We had eight kids. Yeah. Um, so we were like, okay, well we're not gonna do eight individual, like homeschooling, tutoring session. So we pulled everyone together.

Speaker 3 5:53

So you're just like, let's start a school. Yeah.

Speaker 5:54

We started a school and then yeah. It just, it's evolved from there and continued to grow and, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 3 6:01

Yeah.

Speaker 6:02

So we did not plan to start a school.

Speaker 3 6:04

No, that was never the plan, but it's, it's kind of the way it's evolved and, uh, we just kind of took the money from my savings and we rented, um, an office, like there was one of those rent a office suite, things where like you can rent an individual office. We wound up renting three offices in that suite and we started our school there. And, um, then all of a sudden we had more kids wanting to come and we're like, we're gonna have to get a bigger place. Uh, so last year we found our current location at the end of last school year. And then we moved there and we've tripled our, our students in the course of a year, uh, which has been amazing. We still want more kids. The more kids we can help, the more kids we can help, you know? Absolutely. Um, yeah, so. Sorry, I don't mean to ramble, but, uh, it's, it's a very passionate thing for us and it's, it's great when we get to see the positive outcome for sure. Um, for instance, uh, I know we talked a little bit about before the interview, but the, the student who had gone to different public schools and different private schools and had been homeschooled and then she comes to our school last year and it was such. I, I, I'm known at our school for being a big softie because I cry almost daily over something that the kids say or do because it just touches your heart and it makes you, you know, really emotional. Um, she wrote a letter to all of her classmates thanking them because she'd been to all these different schools and like she'd

A Letter That Proved Belonging

Speaker 3 7:22

never had any friends. She'd never fit in and she just was so happy to be at our school. And, um, when I saw that letter, like I read it and I just, it still has tear stains on it. 'cause I was just like bawling. And I take it into Jen, I'm like, Jen, you have to see this.

Speaker 2 7:36

So sweet.

Speaker 3 7:37

Yeah. Oh yeah. But it's little moments like that that really tell us we're doing something right. Yeah. And, and it's really rewarding

Speaker 2 7:42

Absolutely. How full circle of a moment to see that and see the impact that you're truly making. I mean, it's so beautiful and it's amazing what you guys are, are truly doing. And you know, your model, it's especially unique because it creates a truly inclusive environment where neurotypical students and students with disabilities learn alongside one another. How would you describe what makes that approach so meaningful and so effective?

Speaker 8:08

Yeah I have been in a lot of schools, so I've worked in public and private schools in all age ranges, elementary, middle, high school, and college. So when we had our group of eight students. Asking, you know, Hey, can you, can you create

Small Classes And Team Therapies

Speaker 8:24

something that works for these eight kids? We really took that to heart. Like we started this school for that group of eight students, and so we were so focused on what, what are their needs? What do they need? And that inclusive environment was one of those things. And we have a really unique approach. So we have really small class sizes. We have kind of a more holistic approach where instead of having siloed therapies, we bring everyone together. So we have speech, we have ot, and we have, um, applied behavior analysis therapists. And that's something different than a lot of other schools. They don't really allow all those therapists to come in, and we work really collaboratively together to be able to provide what the kids actually need. So it's a really unique approach and something that. We really wanted to be at the center of our school. Like we wanted this to be a place that actually worked for the kids, where they weren't just another number or a kid sitting in the back of a general education classroom, but that it was actually meaningful and meeting their needs. And so, yeah, it's just been a really collaborative, um, kind of environment that's really been able to work for the kids. So,

Speaker 3 9:31

yeah.

Speaker 9:32

Yeah,

Speaker 3 9:32

that's awesome. And it's really awesome, like when we get to see our neurotypical students, um. Learning about the, the other kids' needs and, and abilities. And it's, um, it really touches your heart because it becomes more of like a family unit. Like we have kids that are looking out for other kids because they care, because they're their friend and they love them. And it just,

Speaker 9:51

it's just natural too. It

Speaker 3 9:52

is. It happens natural. You're not even forcing it upon them like it's. We give them the opportunity and they rise to meet the occasion.

Speaker 9:59

Yeah, man.

Speaker 3 9:59

And it's, it's just like the kids with the needs, like they've been in like, you know, special education classrooms in public school where they get, you know, segregated and they have to be in their own room and like, you know, they're, they're told they can't do things because of their disability. Uh, when in fact it's like if you presume their competence, if you presume the fact that they can do anything, you know, any other kid can do. They do. They do,

Speaker 10:20

yeah.

Speaker 3 10:20

Every single time.

Speaker 10:22

Yeah.

Speaker 3 10:22

And it's like, sure, there might be extra steps, there might be a hurdle. They might need some adaptation, but they can do it. And they do, and that's, that's amazing.

Speaker 10:30

Yeah.

Speaker 2 10:31

Yes. I wanted to dig into that more. When you brought up the idea of presuming competence, which is such a powerful mindset, why is that philosophy so important in the way you teach support and just believe in your students?

Speaker 10:45

Yeah,

Speaker 3 10:45

I think, well if, if I tell you every single day of your life that you can't climb a tree, you're never even gonna try. Yeah. If I tell you every single day of your life that you can climb that tree, you're gonna climb that tree every day of your life. And it's kind of that same thing. It's, it's you, you have to, you have to allow somebody the opportunity. If you take that away from them mentally,

Why Presuming Competence Works

Speaker 3 11:04

they're never going to live up to it physically and mentally. What? Whatever, uh, it's, it's like the kids that are told you're never gonna read, well then why even try if I'm, if I can't read, I can't read. I'm gonna not waste my time with that. But if you tell 'em, oh no, we can tell this is easy. Check this out, and you show them they're, they're, they're gonna, they're gonna rise to the occasion. They're gonna even surpass it. All of our students in their own way have what I call their superpowers. You know, each one of them has something that they're just ridiculously good at and, and other kids might not be. But that's the thing is it's like every, every single kid has a special ability and you have to really nurture that and let them know that it's okay to you.

Speaker 2 11:40

Absolutely. Yeah. Sorry

Speaker 3 11:41

I didn't to cut you off.

11:41

No,

Speaker 11:41

that was a great analogy actually. And it's so true. Like, you know, when kids come to us, they have a past, right? So they have documents from previous schools or other experiences that their parents share with us, and you know, if they come with an IEP or or something, we take a look at that. But we don't necessarily put a lot of stock in that because our school also provides an environment where. They are able to be successful. And so a lot of times we have kids that, hey, they may have had some big behaviors in other schools and we don't even see that at our school just because our environment is set up in such a way that they're able to be successful. And so we like that is at the core of our school, is presuming competence and just saying, Hey, these kids, like no matter what their past history was or what their experiences were in other schools, we're gonna give 'em a chance here we're gonna see what they can do and. And we kind of go from there. So we start with just assuming that they can do it, and then if they need, you know, some accommodations or they need a little bit of modified work or something like that, then you know, we implement that. But it's just giving them the chance and they shine like every single time.

Speaker 3 12:49

I'm surprised every

Speaker 12:50

single day,

Speaker 3 12:50

so,

Speaker 12:51

yeah.

Speaker 2 12:52

Oh, that's so wonderful. Yeah. I just love how you guys meet them, where they are, where they're at, um, and you're just able to watch them flourish along the way, build that confidence. It's everything. I think it's awesome.

Speaker 3 13:02

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

Speaker 2 13:04

And something that came through so clearly in your story is that this school is not just about academics, it's about belonging. What does it mean to you to create a place where students feel seen, valued, and like they just truly fit in?

Speaker 13:18

Oh my goodness. Absolutely. It's, it makes me cry. 'cause it, it's seriously so seamless and like we, we just take all of these kids under our wing, they mesh together with each other. They help each other out. And I think that's a big

Strengths First And The Ice Cream Shop

Speaker 13:35

thing with the inclusion piece and kind of just having that empathy and understanding. You know, we just, it, it's just so natural for our kids. And like Frank said, hearing those stories of kids who. Maybe were bullied in another school or they just didn't have like same age friends or peers. Um, and they're able to come to our school and mesh and they seriously, they act like brothers and sisters, which is great sometimes, but they, they seriously act like brothers and sisters because they just all take care of each other. Look out for each other, and mesh so well, and they all belong. And yeah,

Speaker 3 14:09

it's really beautiful. And when you focus, when you focus on what we all have in common, uh, it's very easy to.

Speaker 14:15

Yeah,

Speaker 3 14:15

not focus on the differences. And I think that's something that we do differently is, is it's not, you're differently abled or you know, your, your special needs. So you're different than the neurotypical kids. It's. We all are here together to learn the same thing. We all love to create, so let's create together. Um, so like our, our, our students right now, they've actually built their own ice cream shop, uh, in our, in our lounge. Like yeah, it's really good because, because they just decided they wanted to do it one day. How

Speaker 2 14:43

fun.

Speaker 3 14:43

Yeah. We provided them with the materials and they, they, they made their own little paper ice creams and stuff. And so because of their interest in that, and I've also been teaching entrepreneurship. Uh, and so is Jen actually in her, in her history class as well? Yeah. Um, but we've been teaching that and so they've gotten to a point where they genuinely want to open an ice cream shop together, all of them. And so I actually bought an ice cream maker and we've started like making different kinds of ice cream together. It's really sweet. And then I'm, I'm trying to figure out a way that we can make this into like a small business for them, right? So that they can have a piece of it and be, be a part of it.

Speaker 15:15

But what's cool is they naturally came together and did this, and they, they. Naturally, again, pulled on the strengths of each person. So they were like, Hey, this kid's really great at math. You're gonna be our cashier. This kid's really great at making things out of paper. So you're in charge of making all of our paper ice cream cones like they, and that's kind of how our whole school operates. It

Speaker 3 15:38

really is.

Speaker 15:38

It's like this how they. Brought this ice cream shop together. Yeah.

Speaker 2 15:41

This

Speaker 15:41

is how our school operates. Just,

Speaker 3 15:43

yeah. It's finding everybody's strength and, and letting them use it. Yeah. And then that's, and the kids have really adopted that. And it's, it's just, it's a magical thing. Like it's, it's very beautiful and I can't even take credit for it because it's something that's just happening very organically.

Speaker 2 15:56

Yeah, they do it themselves. That's

Speaker 3 15:57

awesome. They do. Yeah. Yeah. Just give them the opportunity.

Speaker 2 16:00

Well make sure to let us snow when the ice cream shop is up and running.

Speaker 3 16:02

Will do. Will do.

Speaker 2 16:03

We'd love to stop by.

Speaker 3 16:05

It's gonna cost me more money, I'm sure, but not. Yeah.

Speaker 16:07

They're very passionate about it though. Like we even looked into like some kid entrepreneur fairs to see if we can. Then we're like, okay, well then we have to keep the ice cream cold and we need a package. It, so there's a lot more involved.

Speaker 3 16:16

You're gonna wind up buying like a chest freezer and like one of those little bikes that you can go around and serve ice cream on you.

Speaker 16:21

So, but they're, if they're willing to put in the work, like we're willing to help them. They're so excited about it. Yeah.

Speaker 2 16:26

How cool. I love that. And, you know, your students going on along with that, they, they seem to take real ownership in the school from, you know, wanting to help raise money to become, to becoming part of the events like the spella on. Yeah. How important is it to you that they feel like active contributors to the community and not just participants in it? Yeah,

Speaker 3 16:46

so from day one, um, these kids have had such a vested interest in this school. To the point, like the, the very first parent we met with. Um, you know, they, they asked us about, you know, doing this school for their kid. And, um, we

Kids As Co Builders And Fundraisers

Speaker 3 17:00

were like, oh, this is gonna cost a lot of money and stuff. Her daughter, the, the student brought us her allowance money from home in a little Ziploc bag and gave it to us for the school. And I have never cried harder in my life

Speaker 17:12

and it was like $31 something.

Speaker 3 17:13

It was, was it the sweetest thing ever? And it was like, no, you keep that sweetheart, that's yours. I got this, you know, and, uh, yes, I've put my entire life savings into this school at this point, but it's worth it. Just seeing these kids. Um, and, but that's the thing is they want to feel a part of it. They want, they're very curious. They want to know, you know, how much is rent and how, how much to get our curriculum and

Speaker 17:35

stuff like that. They question us sometimes. They're like, so are we good? Do we have enough for rent? I'm like, yes guys, we're good. Don't

Speaker 3 17:40

work. We're working on it. Yeah.

Speaker 17:40

But they, I think, 'cause they were there with us, especially at the beginning. Yeah, they were with us from the beginning and they saw like, Hey, you guys are. Building this for us, and they really understand that and take that ownership and they want to be a part of it. And so, yeah, like from them bringing us their report card money or their allowance money, like sometimes they're like, Hey, did I get. All A's in my report card. 'cause then I'll get this much money and then I can donate it to the school. And we're like, oh my goodness, you guys,

Speaker 3 18:06

and by the way, all the student donations have been returned to them. Like, we're not taking money from the kids. We don't let them. Uh, but it's, it's so sweet that they want to, and that's part of how the Beath fund that you mentioned, uh, came to be Yeah. Was they really wanted to help raise money for their school. Yeah.

Speaker 18:20

And um, the end of. School year. Yeah. We had, we just moved in, we had just moved into the larger space, which was a big leap of faith. We were actually like down to like, I mean we were budgeting to the penny, like, could we afford this space? And we were like, we're just gonna make it work. We're gonna take this leap of faith. The kids were so involved and Frank, um, he has a background in doing events and so he came up with this genius idea to do this billon. Um, because yeah, our students were really struggling with spelling when we first met them, so we worked really hard on spelling throughout the year, and it was something that they were really excited and passionate about, was like getting. Doing better on these, um, spelling tests. And so Frank came up with this idea. He was gonna be Dr. Spellman, who is an evil supervi, mad scientist. Thank

Speaker 3 19:05

you. Yes. Mad scientist, Uhhuh.

Speaker 19:06

And, um, the kids were gonna be superheroes and they were gonna do the spell athon, so they would, um. Spell 200 words. They would get pledges for however many words they spelled correctly. And so they would be able to show what they, what they had learned in spelling, have tons of fun with it, and also have a way to contribute to raising money for the school. And it is so fun. So yeah, they spell 200 words, which sounds really daunting and serious, but it is so much fun. Like they dress up like superheroes. We had lights and bubble machines, and

Speaker 3 19:36

every time I have a prize wheel, yeah. You know, I can give them stuff like, and. I, we do some trivia, like we do, we break it up. So it's not like a just long monotonous 200 word spelling

Speaker 19:45

test, right? It's a whole event and every single kid participates again part of our inclusive school. So like we had some adaptations for kids that needed it, and everyone participates. Everyone has so much fun. And yeah, so we started that last year when we had moved into the building. So this'll be our. Coming up here in April, um, April 24th will be our second Spella hon fundraiser, and that's our big spring fundraiser. And so

Speaker 3 20:06

we gotta kick it up a notch.

Speaker 2 20:07

Yeah,

Speaker 3 20:08

absolutely. I have the snow machine being delivered today, so Yeah,

Speaker 20:11

they keep asking me if there's gonna be a Mrs. Spellman this year. Oh yeah. So I might have to be a, a mad scientist villain too, but I don't know. Frank does it so Well, it was hilarious. Um,

Speaker 3 20:21

I don't know. Jen got pretty mad at me for the confetti cannons, so.

Speaker 20:24

Oh man. Confetti cannons

Speaker 3 20:25

had a lot of confetti.

Speaker 20:26

There was, well, it was a great life's. Skill 'cause we got to teach the kids vacuuming and cleaning up after themselves.

Speaker 3 20:32

And that's a great thing too, is the kids take a lot of ownership too. Uh, 'cause we do a lot of things where, you know, arts and crafts or, you know, things where they can get messy and they, they take a lot of ownership in making sure that they clean up after themselves and that they take care of their stuff. And I feel like that's something that we've really been able to impart on them is, is just if you take care of it, then you have it. You know? And if you don't, then it'll go away and you won't be able to have it anymore. And, and they really love. I mean, we, we have, we have a kid who every single day asks me if there's any jobs she can do.

Speaker 21:00

Yeah.

Speaker 3 21:01

Like she wants to clean, she wants to like, do something. And it's always, I am constantly like, I, I don't have anything today, but, but ask me tomorrow. You know?

Speaker 21:07

But I think it's all part of that like ownership, like Yeah, this is their school. It's not our school. It's

Speaker 3 21:12

not our

Speaker 21:12

school at

Speaker 3 21:12

all. Yeah.

Speaker 21:13

Yeah. And, and so they take so much ownership in that, whether it's cleaning up things when, you know, they make a mess or, you know, helping raise money through things like the spella on or. Yeah, they just,

Speaker 3 21:25

it really touches your heart.

Speaker 21:26

Yeah. That's so sweet.

Speaker 3 21:27

But

Speaker 2 21:27

absolutely. How fun and, and getting those life skills along the way too, just like cleaning up after yourself and taking care of your things. Um, I just think that's amazing all around it sounds like so much fun.

Speaker 3 21:38

We've had parents go, how, how have you got my kid to do this? 'cause they won't do this at home. And I'm like, oh, you just gotta talk to 'em like they're an adult man. Like, it's fine.

Speaker 2 21:44

Yeah.

Speaker 21:45

Those social life skills. Are really like embedded in everything that we do. So like you had said earlier, we teach the academics, but we also are really focused on that nurturing environment, um, and teaching them those social and life skills that a lot of times aren't explicitly taught in a school environment. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 22:03

That's so wonderful.

Speaker 22:04

Yeah.

Speaker 2 22:05

And you know, kind of a pivot, Jen, you've also developed the adaptive friends curriculum so that other educators in schools can learn from what you've built. What inspired you to turn your approach into a resource that can reach beyond your own classrooms?

Speaker 22:20

Yeah, I think this is something I had been kind of working on back when I was getting my doctorate and it has just continued to evolve. But seeing again, how seamlessly our kids come together and learn from each other and understand each other, I wanted to create something

Adaptive Friends Books And Curriculum

Speaker 22:36

that, other teachers or parents could use if their kids. Don't have a school environment like the one that we've created. And so, um, what has come of that, or what has evolved is this adaptive friends curriculum, which, um, we've written 10 children's books, so therefore any kid to teach about different disabilities through empathy and friendship. So again, looking through that lens of presuming competence, what, you know, yes, they might you know, a kid with. A DHD might struggle to, to focus, but here are some other things that they're really good at and here is a way that they can overcome that. And for kids, here's how you can be a good friend, right? If you see your friend struggling in this way, or having this certain behavioral or whatever it is, here's how you can help them while still presuming competence. Um, so yeah, we have those 10 kids children's books. And then we have a full curriculum that teachers or homeschool parents can use to. Teach more about those different disabilities and um, yeah, how to be an inclusive and empathetic friend. So it's really sweet. The characters are really cute and it's just, it's really fun and it's just a way for us to be able to share a little piece of our school since we can't be everywhere. And just kind of, and kind of spread that. So, yeah. It's really exciting

Speaker 3 23:54

and that's kinda the magic of the curriculum too, and, and just the amazingness and why I love, uh, Jen so much is the fact that she, she had part of this curriculum already written before we'd ever even met. Yeah. She had a couple of these children's books and then when we met and we started this school and people started finding out about our school and other places, they're like, oh gosh, we, we wish there was a school like this here for my kids. Right. Yeah. And we, we realize, you know, at this point, obviously we can't open schools everywhere. Maybe one day we'll see. Uh, but, uh, God willing. Um, but that was the thing is we, we wanted something that we could share with everyone and, and sort of give them a taste of like our school life. And so, like, we talked about it and I was like, Jen, like make this curriculum like we can, we can give it to other people. We can sell it to schools that can, use it and implement it. And that way we can kind of spread this love and this joy like everywhere and

Speaker 24:42

it starts with the kids. So that's what it's

Speaker 3 24:44

absolutely,

Speaker 24:45

it's really cool because the curriculum is focused on. Teaching kids how to have that empathy, how to see that competence in other people. And so I feel like if we can get that out there and. The kids can start learning that from a young age, again, like what we see in our school where it is so seamless and it's so natural. It's not, oh, I'm a, I'm a buddy to this other kid and I have to do everything for him or her or help them. It's just really natural and so. Yeah, just getting it out there while the kids are young and they're able to experience that and understand at a young age. So,

Speaker 3 25:19

and then of course, that was another time that she made me cry. She named one of the kids in the books after me. And that was, that was such an emotional moment. I was like, oh, I'm in a book. This is amazing.

Speaker 25:27

There's a lot of, so in all of the books, there's a lot of, like some of our other teacher's names are in there, some of our students' names. Um, one of the books is

Speaker 3 25:35

So it's really personal.

Speaker 25:36

Yeah. Yeah. Frank's in there And your pup. Yep. And my uncle Timmy he has muscular dystrophy, so I actually worked with him to write the book on muscular dystrophy and had his insight of like, Hey, what was it like when you were a kid? And um, so that was a really cool experience as well. Yeah.

Speaker 2 25:51

Wow.

Speaker 25:51

But they're very personal and yeah,

Speaker 2 25:54

I can tell. It truly is just like a piece of you guys and

Speaker 25:56

yeah,

Speaker 2 25:56

being able to share that, you know, around and be able to spread that knowledge and have that as a resource for others, I mean, I think that's just so awesome.

Speaker 26:05

Yeah. Thank you.

Speaker 2 26:06

And you know, you have some exciting things happening, including the annual spella on the science fair summer programming and ongoing fundraising efforts. Can you share a little bit about what's coming up and how the community can get involved?

Speaker 3 26:20

Of course. Uh, so we do have the spella on coming up. What was the date on that, do you remember?

Speaker 26:24

April 24th.

Speaker 3 26:25

Thank

Speaker 26:25

you. Is the spell athon.

Speaker 3 26:26

Okay.

Speaker 26:26

And so, yeah, the students get pledges, but we also accept, outside pledges. So if you want to sponsor a student they spell up to 200 words. So you can pledge just like a, Hey,

Spellathon Summer Camps And Donations

Speaker 26:36

I wanna sponsor a student, I'm gonna donate X amount of money, or I'm gonna donate so much per word that, you know, one of the students gets. Correct. So, um, if you want to support the spella on and support the kids in this fillon

Speaker 3 26:49

and that, that really helps the kids who maybe don't get as many donors. Yeah. You know, maybe they don't have quite the social circle as other kids. And so that way we can give them, you know, more to contribute, you know, as, as a student as well.

Speaker 26:59

Yeah.

Speaker 3 26:59

And I think that's a really sweet thing to do too. Um, plus you can also make a flat donation if you're worried that 200 words is gonna break your bank. Like, just be like, Hey, here's 50 bucks flat donation, that's fine. But yeah, anything we can do really help kids.

Speaker 27:11

The kids get really excited when they have an outside donor. 'cause I think it's just like, Hey, somebody out there like believes in me. I'm gonna spell these words correctly. So. But yeah, you can just email us if you're interested in sponsoring a student for this fillon.

Speaker 3 27:23

Yep. And then we also, uh, we also, like you said, ongoing donations. Uh, we're always looking for donors that want to help. 'Cause we, we constantly need new and better things. Like, um, the majority of the things that we got together to start the school, you know, we were on, you know, Facebook marketplace and we were like looking like, Hey, somebody's. Somebody's dad has this old shelf he's gonna use, you know, last,

Speaker 27:43

last summer. Yeah. We joked that our second job was running around getting furniture Uhhuh,

Speaker 3 27:48

professional

Speaker 27:48

Furniture

Speaker 3 27:48

mover.

Speaker 27:49

Yeah. Yeah. Yes. We were constantly like, what can we find at a decent price? Right? Anyway, so yes, donations are always great on our website, um, phoenix nova school.com, you can go to, there's a tab that says get involved and there's everything there. So you can donate just like money donations, you can donate supplies. Our Amazon wishlist is on there. So all of our, information is there and that's a great way to help support the school as well.

Speaker 3 28:15

And then, uh, we do have our summer camps coming up as well, uh, which was something when, back when we were still educate theater camp before we became Phoenix Nova School. We were running, that was kind of our whole thing, was running summer camps and, and being able to help kids. And so our, we have a, a full curriculum throughout the summer. Uh, each week has a different theme, um, and so kids can sign up for as many or as few as they need so we can work around parents' schedules with vacations, things like that.

Speaker 28:41

Um, and our, our summer camp is, um. Um, like an extended school year slash summer camp. So again, a lot of our kids really need that consistency throughout the summer. And so there is this an academic piece. Of course it's gonna be fun academics, but we'll do a little language arts, a little bit of math. And Mr. Frank, of course, with the steam. Uh, we have a lot of

Speaker 3 29:01

fun in my lab.

Speaker 29:01

All the science labs stuff I wanna come. It sounds fun. You're welcome

Speaker 3 29:04

to. Yeah. Anytime.

Speaker 29:06

But yeah, it's full summer, June 1st to August 28th. 13 weeks. All different themes, lots of fun. We'll do some academics. And then we have music, art, theater. Oh my goodness. Uh, sports, all kinds of fun things. So yeah, lots

Speaker 3 29:20

of fun stuff. Um, and then other than that, like just, uh, enrollment, like we're always, like I said, we're trying to reach as many families and as many kids as we can. Maybe those kids that don't feel like they fit in at public school or other private schools. Uh, maybe those parents who can't, you know, afford the time off work to homeschool, uh, but want their kid to have a social and academic like place to go. Um, because the more kids that we can, we can help the, the better we feel like we can make the world right. And that's, that's kind of our end goal. And, and it's, it's been my mantra for years, like making the world a better place, one, one person at a time. And it's always been how I live my life in that I want to anybody I meet, I wanna make your world better. Her and it, it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter how we met. It's like, how can I make even your day better? Can I make you smile? Can I do something for you? And that's something that we're really trying to do with our school as well. So if you know anybody out there who's looking for a great school for their kid, if you know anybody out there, if you yourself have a child who just, you've been through, you know, all these different schools and they don't fit in, they feel like they're being bullied all the time, um, they don't feel like they really fit in anywhere. Give us a call come have a tour. Let us show you what we do and, and how we do it. Um, because it's amazing the number of of families that have come to us and it's been like, oh, thank God for you. Like, we didn't know what we were gonna do if we hadn't found you. And it's very humbling. 'cause that's not, that wasn't our goal. Like, we're not here for fame. We're not here for fortune. Certainly not you, you don't, you don't get into education for money by, by any means. Especially not, you know. Small private education. And so it's, it's just one of those things that's very rewarding. And the more people that we can reach, the more we can get this message out there and help other kids the, the better we are. And so that's, that's really our goal. So

Speaker 2 31:01

That's wonderful. Yeah, you guys are just doing such meaningful and, and amazing things for the community and I can just see how it is making this big impact. Um, and it'll just continue to grow. So I think that that's just awesome and. As we wrap up, is there anything either of you would like to add that I haven't touched on today?

Speaker 3 31:19

Your hair looks amazing, right? I don't know how you do that. I work for hours on mine. I can never make it do that.

Speaker 2 31:25

Thank, it's always good making everyone feel welcome. I know you guys are

Speaker 3 31:28

just so fun. Also a great hug. Yeah. I give great hugs, but, um, no, the, uh, the biggest thing for me is I just, I want people out there to know that there, there are always people out there doing the best they can. And with what they have. And you can always

Faith Leaps And Final Reflections

Speaker 3 31:44

find people, God will bring the right people into your life, um, to help you do what you're supposed to do. And it's like, if you feel like you're alone, you feel like nobody's out there helping you, you can't get anyone to, to even notice you. Maybe you're doing the wrong thing, you know, maybe you need to, to pivot, you need to focus on something else. Yeah. Um, but my main thing is I just, I wanna thank God, like for helping us do this, uh, for bringing us together to making our puzzle pieces meet, like you said. That was a weird way to say, said, but I'm gonna stick by it. That was very fun for me. But seriously, I, I'm just so thankful that we've had this opportunity and that we, we seem to be growing and I hope we continue that trend, um, so that we can touch as many lives as we can.

Speaker 32:23

Absolutely.

Speaker 3 32:24

And then Jen, what would you like to say? Sorry.

Speaker 32:26

I mean, you wrapped it up beautifully. I'm that guy. Yeah, and no, I was gonna say the same thing that, again, this was not in our plans. Like, yes, I have a background in education and I, but I had never. Thought that this is what was gonna happen and that we would be starting a school and, and growing in the way that we have. And it's just been such a blessing. And like Frank said, is exactly what I was gonna say is just to, to anyone out there, there no, like, you know, it was perfect. Like follow, follow your passion and just, be open to these different things. Like when those parents were reaching out to us, we sat there. And we were like, are we really gonna start a school? Like, is, is this really the path that we're going down? Like, and I remember like, we woke up in the middle of the night and looked at each other and we're like, we have to for the kids. And it was just like, we were both like on the same wavelength. And, and it wasn't about even the parents, it wasn't about us, it was about the kids. And we're like, if we don't do. Who is, and we've just been,

Speaker 3 33:20

been, those kids just wanted a safe place to be able to go and learn, you know,

Speaker 33:23

and we've been living on a lot of faith, a lot of faith since, a lot of faith. Um, yeah, I just follow your passion and follow the signs, and just yeah, be open to crazy things happening and leading you in. A direction. So, and

Speaker 3 33:37

be willing to take that leap, you know?

Speaker 33:38

Yeah.

Speaker 3 33:39

That's the big thing. That's, that's I feel a difference between people who actually do something in this world and people that just go through the motions.

Speaker 33:45

Yeah.

Speaker 3 33:45

The people that go through the motions have just never had the courage to take that leap. And if you do trust me, it's, it's gonna pay off. Like, it's amazing.

Speaker 33:52

Yeah. I also think a lot about our students and our parents and I, I know there's a lot of parents out there that are struggling to find a place for their kids, and so just giving them. Hope. And, you know, we're only here in the Northern Virginia area, but I hope that, but as soon

Speaker 3 34:06

as we find a huge donor, we'll be worldwide. Yes.

Speaker 2 34:10

Right,

Speaker 34:10

right. Let's do it. I hope that, I hope that there are things like this in other places or that we can help, like through, through the curriculum, help, help spread that, but I want parents have

Speaker 3 34:19

help teach other people to be able to do this.

Speaker 34:20

That help. Yeah. 'cause like Frank said, so many parents come to us, they're like, there's, I've never heard of anything like this. You know, this is a perfect fit for a kid. We've been looking for this, and we even have some people who've reached out to us who have older kids who are like, man, I wish this was around when my kids were younger.

Speaker 3 34:33

Right?

Speaker 34:33

And so it's just like, keep going, keep looking and hopefully. Yeah,

Speaker 3 34:38

grades nine through 12 coming soon. Yeah.

Speaker 34:40

Oh my goodness. No, I'm not ready.

Speaker 2 34:43

Yeah, I mean, all I can say is it was just truly meant to be for you guys. I just know it was your calling and there's no better two people to be running this than you guys, so you're

Speaker 3 34:52

so sweet. Thank you.

Speaker 2 34:53

Yes. Thank you so much, Frank and Jen for joining me on the podcast today and sharing your passion and just inspiring story with us. I wish you both and your wonderful students continued growth, success, and just the very best in the future.

Speaker 35:06

Thank

Speaker 3 35:07

you

Speaker 35:07

so much.