3 min read December 2023 — Brenda Jones, founder of Invictus Nashville Charter School, sat down with Invest: to discuss the next phase of K-12 education in Nashville, the role Invictus will play in it and plans for innovative learning down the line. “There is a movement here in Nashville’s education sector where I feel there is a collective group of people trying to figure out how to do what is best for students and families in our community so everyone is thriving,” she said.
How is Invictus Nashville Charter School addressing gaps in the traditional educational model?
Invictus Nashville Charter School first and foremost takes a holistic approach to education. When I say this, I mean we want to ensure our students can define their unique path to personal and professional freedom, whatever that looks like for them. In doing that, our approach is ensuring they know what the possibilities are. We are also coupling this with the social and emotional learning that are necessary to accomplish what they want to do in the world. There is a difference between this and making sure they can pass a test or take good notes. When you invest in the hopes and dreams of the students and develop plans to help them do that, you get high academic outcomes. They then pursue what drives them and are making connections between the content you are teaching them and what it means for their lives outside of the school’s four walls. The education sector is missing this.
What challenges have you encountered throughout the opening process?
I am a standalone charter school. People have to believe in you before they believe in the work you may be doing. One of the challenges I had was educating families on this model. Families hadn’t heard of a Montessori school or the benefits. For them, it was a challenge. You don’t anticipate this when seeking information. We ended up creating an entire educational series so we could bring families along on this journey and understand what the point of Invictus Nashville Charter School is. Historically, Montessori schools were exclusive and private in the United States. No one knew it could be available to the public for free. Additionally, most startups struggle with investing. Public money comes from enrollment, but starting up comes from investing, grants and making sure people believe in your vision. That funding is used to support facility acquisition, marketing and following through with year-one promises prior to enrollment starting. We are in an interesting phase in bringing on more investors before the kids are there so that when they walk through the doors, we are thriving and not surviving.
What is the trajectory of the education industry?
There are a lot of factors that concern me about where our education system is moving. The research is showing that whether students go to college or jump right into the workforce, there are skills and habits they have not acquired. This is a leading indicator on whether they will thrive in whatever role they choose. These are skills that are not necessarily targeted in the K-12 education sector. More schools are becoming familiar with working toward building agency, perseverance, resilience and the ability to adapt. This has not been prioritized. We have to begin thinking about how to incorporate these skills in an authentic matter.
How will innovation and technology be implemented at Invictus Nashville Charter School?
I have a lot of plans, which is what is so exciting about being a startup charter school. You can dream really big. In most situations, I would have to get brought back down to Earth. In incorporating the Montessori model, we want students to be self-sufficient. We want our students to learn everything about gardening by encouraging sustainability and infusing the community themselves. So many skills are addressed here aside from physically growing plants. We have to market it, create a website, learn how to sell items and more. It will eventually be scaled as a student-run organization to serve the homeless, families in need and other community members from what the kids were able to do themselves. Our innovation market will marry skills with passions. We are so excited for this and more.
What is the importance of collaboration in the education industry?
It’s important to stay connected to the community and keep it the heartbeat of our school and education as a whole. There is a movement here in Nashville’s education sector where I feel there is a collective group of people trying to figure out how to do what is best for students and families in our community to ensure everyone is thriving. The movement is those saying they do not care if you are private, charter or public – if it is in the best interest of the families and students we serve and will produce high outcomes, how are we going to get it done together? That is a beautiful thing. This mentality continues to grow, and as it does, we will continue to see more innovative models across the board. More students will continue to engage with their communities outside of the classroom and sports. We are moving in a direction we lost for a while. That is what my childhood here felt like, and then everything became siloed and individualistic. We are getting back to our roots of bringing students and their communities together. I am so excited about what this means for the future.
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