Dual School wins national recognition as one of 30 T-Mobile ‘Changemakers’

Dual School will be heading to Seattle later this month to participate in T-Mobile’s Immersive Changemaker Lab with 29 other innovative youth teams selected in the telecom company’s Changemaker Challenge.

Our mission at @TMobile has always been to change things for good & that’s exactly what the T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge is all about!! More than 300 amazing ideas presented & today, we’re excited to announce the top 30 winners!! #TMOChangemaker

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) July 23, 2018

Judges from competition partners T-Mobile and Ashoka reviewed submissions from youth teams across the country using quality, creativity, commitment and connection as the main criteria.

Dual School, a program that helps teens turn their passion project ideas into reality, had its pilot in the fall of 2017. It has expanded in 2018, with two multi-school spring cohorts meeting at 1313 Innovation, and a third based at William Penn High School. Projects have included a children’s book on implicit bias, a financial literacy program for low-income communities, a rotorless drone and revitalizing Canby Park.

This is the first time Dual School has received national recognition, although the minds behind the program, including youth empowerment advocate Catherine Lindroth, created the nationally recognized SummerCollab program. Dual School has also gotten attention from the founding teachers of High Tech High in San Diego, Most Likely to Succeed producer Ted Dintersmith and Dr. Ivor Hickey, of the U.K.-based Leonardo Effect.

Zack Jones, Horn Program alum and author of The World Changer’s Handbook, helped develop the program and currently serves as its director.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity for Dual School to be showcased on a national stage,” said Jones.

In addition to the three-day workshop offering mentorship and skills training with T-Mobile senior leadership and an opportunity to collaborate with fellow Changemakers, Dual School has also been awarded $2,000 in seed funding.