The Founders
“It’s very beautiful to hear all these different responses and how this school and its community has changed them for the better, and to see all their different appreciations for each other.”
As we know, this school has been around for 7 years now and we have about 8 teachers and staff members who have been here since the beginning. There were more but some have left to pursue something new and different. In this article, we’ll be talking about our remaining founders: Mr. Noah, Mr. Mosley, Mr. Ryan , Ms. Mao, Mr. Brooks, Ms. Agrawal, Ms. Kneish, and Ms. G. We’re going to talk about their experiences and commitment to the school Comp Sci High – their dedication, knowledge, and development. We would love to shine some light on the different perspectives and insight to the 8 founders still standing in Comp Sci High.
In this interview, we asked them a series of questions regarding their time here at Comp Sci High:
How have you seen the school evolve over time?
How have you evolved over time?
What were some of your rewarding moments during your time here from the beginning?
How does it feel to work with each other from the beginning to now?
First we are going to give the answers that Mr. Noah gave to these questions, after all he is the founder of Comp Sci High.
Mr.Noah:
“It wasn’t a straight evolution. About a year and a half into the year COVID hit which shifted our focus and it felt like a side-quest because it came with the cost of putting energy into solving the unique problems that were opposed such as remote learning and trying to keep the community together.
We started with the right set of ideas, computer science, internships, and a strong sense of community which allowed for some great early ideas, but since the school was so small once COVID hit, it put everything on a pause because we thought that once going through the worst of COVID, we would snap back to how everything was before, but as we all know nothing in the world was the same as it was before. So it’s been a great start at first but then a long journey back to that same sense of optimism and success, and with our new building it’s a big step back in that direction.
My job in the school now is really different to how it was before. I was the everything person working on finances, managing all the teachers, spending most of my time interacting with parents and teachers, but now I don’t interact with either as much, as that's more of Ms. Alder and Ms. Liani’s job, I spend most of my time thinking about finance and partnerships to bring in more resources.
Also, I get to teach now! But the reason why is because it keeps me more grounded to the reality of the work which is all about the students and the classroom, which gets easy to forget when now I spend more of my time far from day-to-day student life. I have learned to let go, and I've learned that my job is really more about building capabilities and capacities in other people and not so much about being the star of the show and doing it myself, even though I like to do things myself.
My most rewarding moments are the time when seniors are starting to get into college, and it’s been rewarding every year for the last 7 years. But to see moments like parents reacting to their students' college acceptances, hearing from alumni like Charisma Santa who goes to Swarthmore, who I was speaking to a while ago, and she said “Comp Sci High changes you” and I said “Hopefully for the better!” She was being real about it because she said how she really has changed through her time being in Comp Sci High thanks to the people she was around, and I thought that was really beautiful, and I think those are my most rewarding moments, which is seeing a kid who we ACTUALLY helped.
But my most difficult times are when I see a kid and I think We did not help this kid because they would be getting in trouble all the time, always having their head down in class because our whole purpose of existence is to make a positive difference in people's lives, so when we’re not it feels very dark for me because I think What’s the whole point of starting a school if we're not making a difference, and it should be the case that we can build a school where every single kid can walk through our doors and get something positive out of it, because there’s lots of moments where I feel we hit that goal of helping students but there are times where I do feel that we are far from reaching that goal.”
“I am close to all of the founding teachers, but it feels strange because I can say I’ve worked with these people for 7 years. It feels strange to know them for this long because we watched each other get married, have children, and those type of relationships are mainly seen in either family or really close friends, but there's a 3rd category that is I’ve been in close proximity with this person for a long time, and it’s beautiful and nice, and again it’s strange since we’ve been through so many highs and lows to the point where I know them so well, so whenever I talk with them I can remember times where we were at very negative places and also positive places, and it’s strange to have all of that history.”
No matter what, I can count on them to be honest with me when I am doing something wrong in school. But I do see them as family, I could not have done it without them.”
Mr. Mosley:
“The school has evolved from a tiny, very close-knit community into a bigger, multi-faceted community that has so many moving pieces. Our model has always been centered around exposing our students to as many opportunities as possible and helping them discover their passions. That's where we started, but we were able to consistently scale those programs year after year. When you look around now, students are able to find so many opportunities to get involved with the school, work, learn and generally find something they are interested in, and this was always the goal from day 1, just more fully realized now.
I've grown a lot since my first days at CSH. Firstly, I had a lot of imposter syndrome - wondering who I was to lead a team and to teach at this school (which I always believed was destined for greatness. Still do.) Now I take what I try to teach my students and apply it to myself - the ability is always there, but you have to believe in yourself before you can access it. My mindset has shifted from "well, it's the students' fault if they don't want to listen and learn because they didn't take advantage of their opportunities" to "it is my job to convince students that what I am teaching and saying is worth listening to." It's important to me that students who come through our doors feel the difference and impact of their choice to go to CSH as opposed to any other school they could have attended.
My most rewarding moment was in the 2nd year of CSH being open. I was in advisory with Ms. Mao and one of our advisees, Deniyah Chantel Jordan, came up to me and said, "Mr. Mosley, you were right about me being smarter than I think I am. Thank you for helping me see that," and in that moment, I realized that I actually did have the power to make an impact on my students' lives; that the time, energy and work spent on helping them grow wasn't wasted, but planted and used to collectively water that budding seed inside of them to help them grow. Now, I am happy every time we have our alumni visit the school on their own accord to see the people that helped them reach where they are today. Just yesterday, Donzell Hamilton Jr. (aka DJ) came to visit and caught me up on how things are going for him. Earlier this week, we had some of our alumni at NYU visit as well. It always makes my day when the alumni come to visit and let us know that the work we do here matters, even if we don't see that on the day to day. It's always worth it, even and especially when it's hard.
I think many of the adults stay at CSH because the environment here is uplifting and (typically) positive. When we planned CSH, the plan was to create a DDO, a deliberately developmental organization. That means a place that helps people grow not just as employees, but as people, supporting them in the things that are important to them, even if that means they'll have to leave CSH one day. The adults stay here because the adult community is built in a way that supports, encourages and helps them grow. There is so much love on the staff and people find their professional counterparts here. And while we are far from perfect, I hope that both staff and students can feel our commitment to always hearing what people have to say and making the necessary changes to continue to grow in the ways our community needs most. Everyone in the CSH community has the right to be listened to, respected and loved and that has been a feeling we kept close to the heart since day 0.”
Ms. Mao:
“The school has evolved in a great way… Now, with more staff and teachers, we are able to offer so many more programs and opportunities and teaching experiences. Plus, the evolution of our school building has been a true glow up over the years!” Knowing the school has now been open for 7 years, Ms.Mao stated “We started as a really small project with a handful of teachers and about 100 students.” Being on the third floor in one halfway to evolving to a building with 6 floors shows an immaculate glow up. Moving on to the next question, she said “I've grown in expected and unexpected ways.” She then went on to explain the different ways she has grown.
“In my teaching, I continue to grow in my craft and try my best to have an open mind and to lead with humility. This is a tough profession where there is always so much to learn…But unexpectedly, I've learned a lot about working with adults, both the great parts and the revealing parts about our humanity.”
Going along with answering the third question, Mao stated her most rewarding moment in Comp Sci High: “When my first advisory group returns to tell me how they are doing or to share moments when they are able to apply what I've taught them over the years.”
Finally, Mao said: “It's a complicated feeling to be here since the beginning. So much has changed and so much has remained the same. I've seen teachers, staff, and students come and go but the mission and the purpose of why we are all working so hard remains the same. It's like having to work with a family, one you didn't get to choose: it's messy, dramatic, honest, challenging, but overall, it's a place where we push one another to be better educators and better versions of ourselves.”
Mr. Ryan:
“It evolved in so many ways, starting with 100-120 students to a full hallway leading into having an offsite location for the seniors 4 years ago. One thing I learned is when it comes to adding people to the team, doubling, tripling, and more – some of those ideas for the vision you had, need to change to accommodate for what we have.”
“It’s not about what you want, it’s about what we want, and it's a continuing process of evolution. I came in having visions about what happens and how it happens in the school, in the classroom, as a community. Even if my idea ended up being the right one, it’s not always the right idea that matters, it’s the idea that works the best for everyone. Let others share their ideas and try it even if you think it won’t work. That sort of evolution on how to build a school but also on how to build a team, reminded me of how important that was. What I learned the most is how to work with people the right way to make something beautiful.”
You have to have those moments that you latch onto. I keep every little note card or email a student gives me to appreciate me or thank me. Those are the small moments that I love. Then there are the big moments too: the students getting their college acceptances, when my first advising class with Ms. Liani walked across the graduating stage, the first week of orientation of my current advisory (Goal Diggers) as seniors.
From starting being their sophomore advisors and coming into that group, not knowing them at all and realizing how far we have come and how beautiful that’s been, and seeing Ms. Liani go from my co-advisor and physics teacher to the Chief Academic Officer, and how hard she’s worked and how much better we are as an organization. These milestones are fresh every year and I appreciate it so much.
“There aren’t too many of us left and in a way its interesting because it’s like the people you’ve been around the most are probably the people you have conflict with the most and have fought for in a good way. With Ms. Mao and Mr. Brooks, we used to go back and forth about the best things to do in our English classes that first year. Sometimes it was frustrating and challenging, but to be able to walk into Ms. Mao’s English class now or to work with Mr. Brooks on the academic support team, I’m proud that we made it this far. We worked through those growing pains and hiccups, and it’s special to build something with people and to all the people who helped and went other ways, I’ll miss them and I’ll appreciate them too.
Mr. Noah was the first person in,New York City that I talked to. I was thinking about moving to become a teacher, and we did a phone interview way before Comp Sci High was conceived. Some of these people I’ve known for a long time, and some I consider very dear friends. To all those people, I’m incredibly proud and appreciative to get to know them, because they taught me so much and helped me grow into my professional career, and we continue to build something beautiful.”
Mr. Brooks:
“We started small and now we are much larger, so understanding the ways that we have grown as a team has been really special to watch--adding new members to the team and new dynamics to work with. I think this can be seen sometimes as a challenge and only a challenge, but I welcome it because to me, it is part of the work of being founders.
“I didn't really know how to teach well when I came to Comp Sci, and I feel like I quickly grew in this experience and have continued to over the years. I was required to do many roles in my former schools with not a lot of priority that allowed me to simply teach well, so coming to Comp Sci was truly a breath of fresh air for my growth. After I became a better teacher, I wanted to expand my growth to be as dynamic as possible--using a lot of what I am good at to wear multiple hats in the school environment. I like improving in different ways because I want to be able to be a resource for students and adults, and I feel like Comp Sci High has given me a lot of opportunity and autonomy to improve at all of the hats that I have worn in the school--teaching, leadership, and developing systems and practices that support students.
“My time spent with Mr. Kelly in the classroom--for almost 5 years--contained some of my greatest moments in my career. From socratic seminars and book clubs to writing workshops, I have enjoyed growing with him in our craft as co-teachers. On the leadership side, I really enjoyed co-leading our former 12th grade campus with Mr. Mosley; it taught me a lot about myself, how to push my thinking as a leader, and how I best show up for students. This year, I am excited to channel a lot of my energy in supporting our adult teachers by providing support with students so that we can continue being better educators. In whatever way I can be used, I try to always support as best as I can.”
“I think building a school requires so much patience and flexibility in a thousand ways--including working with adults. I stand by the idea that in order to be best for kids we must consider our adults so that they can provide all of the things for our students and community. Working with adults, like working with students, requires patience--especially when we do not agree. Ultimately though, we are professionals and we care about this work so much, so grounding myself in this mindset regularly is what keeps me centered. Additionally, working with adults also means to highlight the thousand areas of joy and collaboration that we see everyday. Being able to balance highlighting the good with practicing patience is important, and I welcome this challenge because it is necessary work.”
Ms. Agrawal:
“When we started off as a school, it was just about 20 of us, and we were in one hallway as a school in 1300. Now, we have all these systems in place, six stories of the building. Since we have all this space now, we don’t see each other as often as we did at 1300 in one hallway. I joked with Ms. Alder in a meeting about seeing her for the first time in a long time.
Now that we have such a big building, there is so much coordination required and more logistical overhead. It’s incredible, and it offers so many opportunities for us and our kids. Before, whenever something happened, you could just stick your head out the window and ask for assistance or a quick over for the class while they stepped out. It was so simple and easy without needing so many systems to communicate.
When Comp Sci High started, I was the only first-year teacher, and Mr. Noah really wanted to put things in motion, like the all-star team, and limit as many risks as possible. It could have gone really well or poorly. As part of the founding team, it was up to how we executed our vision for the school. Hiring a first-year teacher was a risk he was willing to take, and I’m grateful. As a teacher, I had to figure out what it was like to teach a class and the philosophical questions of what it meant to have a work-based learning school.
My most rewarding moments were always tied to student success. For example, when their students like Maya Gonzales and Kayla McPherson got their admission to colleges. Watching students grow and walk across the stage at graduation is really rewarding for me.
In all honesty, it feels very familiar. It’s like family almost; they are my closest friends. We go through life together, and that’s what it feels like with my founding team. It feels good. We all understand each other, and we have been through it all together. We have a lot of history together, and these people are my family. When building something, many emotions were involved, and it’s familiar to see them every day.”
Ms. G:
“I arrived at CSH halfway through the founding year while we were still in diapers - 1 floor, 20 staff members, 100 spoiled little brats milking the rights of the first born class for all it was worth! We were all, collectively, so hopeful and full of visions of what CSH could be. Seven years later, despite a global pandemic, we can see how those hopes and visions have materialized: Six story building, robust academic program, an array of athletics options, and thriving alumni!
The professional experience I've gained working under the leadership of Noah, Lopez (before your time), Alder, and Kniesh to name a few has been invaluable. On a more personal level, while I'm not in a classroom, being in this space with our students has helped me with my own teenagers in that it continues to give me a fresh perspective.
Watching the founding class graduate and those bright-eyed and bushy-tailed seniors receiving their college acceptance letters will always be amongst my most cherished BIG Comp Sci High memories, but I'd say the more subtle feats are just as rewarding - watching an insecure student find his or her confidence, a shy student find his or her tribe, or a student struggling academically persevere and succeed.”
Conclusion
This article highlights and celebrates the experience of the founding members of Comp Sci High, a school that has significantly grown over the past 7 years. Through our interviews with all the founders we can see that from their perspective the school has evolved from just 90-100 students to a thriving school with expanding opportunities for students.
It’s very beautiful to hear all these different responses and how this school and its community has changed them for the better, and to see all their different appreciations for each other. It’s incredible to hear that through all these years, they’re still standing and still support each other alongside all staff members that attend at Comp Sci High.