Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Duslak.
Hi Nicole, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The public system is a mass production machine that tells our students to sit down and be quiet. For some students, the mass production model works just fine, and they can thrive in that environment, but throughout my years as an educator and administrator, I learned that the vast majority of children don’t fit into the literal and metaphorical desks.
Imagine a vibrant kindergarten class filled with joy. Alive with enough energy to power a small city. Now skip to third grade. Our once-lively and curious students are seated, silent, and likely sad. The modern education system is a mass-production machine that tells our bravest and most creative thinkers to sit down and be quiet. But what about the miniature revolutionaries with a penchant for painting? What if you’re curious and creative? Then, you suffer. And there’s no greater pain than seeing your child suffer.
My son, Avery, was the inspiration behind CREATE. Early in his life, it became clear that there was not going to be a good school for him in our area. I tried multiple organizations, both public and private, and they didn’t work for Avery. Not only was he not being appropriately challenged, but he was beginning to have social and emotional struggles that were born out of his boredom and disengaged brain. He had also been thrown into much higher grade levels as a solution to his academic excellence, and as a result was exposed to intense topics that were well above his social and emotional level. One night, after a particularly rough conversation about content he had learned in his private school, the fear of opening CREATE became less than the fear of what was going to happen to him if I didn’t. My daughter, Julia, was also rapidly approaching school-age and I knew I would be back in the same boat. So, armed with “Nonprofits for Dummies” and a bottle of wine, I set out to design a school where Avery and Julia- and children like them, could thrive. I drew from my experience as a professional actress, certified teacher, and public school principal and got to work.
CREATE applied for its 501(c)(3) status and became incorporated in early 2019. We opened for student enrollment in August 2020 with 7 students. Since then, we have purchased our own location and are working to add a new building to that site. We serve about 50 students in the central Florida area.
CREATE teaches STEM education through arts integration. If you’ve ever had a song stuck in your head and can’t get it out- no matter how hard you try- arts integration has already worked for you.
We believe creativity is the single most important thing we need to teach our children. Virtually every great discovery in the world was made, not just by a smart person, but by a creative problem solver. The arts are arguably the best way to teach and sustain creative minds, so it is imperative that we infuse them into our children’s lives at every possible juncture, so they are prepared to solve the problems of the world for their generation. Our mission is to build strong educational foundations through authentic assessment and exploration through the arts.
At CREATE, we believe in rigorous exploration through the arts and the desegregation of educational subjects. We hold a belief that all children have the right to explore their minds’ fullest potential through movement and creativity, without the confinements of a desk. As part of this mission, CREATE Conservatory provides an alternative to public school options where all children are expected to fit into a mold, learn the same way, and complete (often standardized) paper-and-pencil tests to prove knowledge acquisition.
Our methods have yielded some pretty phenomenal results. Most importantly, our student and families are happy. Our data is also pretty impressive. 96% of our students perform on or above grade level on the Iowa test, which is a nationally norm-referenced assessment we give to students in grades 3 and up. 77% of our students came back one or more years higher than their assigned grade level. 59% of our students performed 2 or more years higher than their assigned grade level.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been the bumpiest road one could possibly imagine! We face all of the struggles of a small business, a nonprofit, and a school. Our biggest struggles have been scaling up issues, funding for expansion, and ensuring that the students who would benefit from us the most know we exist.
I always joke that this endeavor didn’t come with learning curves; it came with learning right angles. It is a job that encompasses so many facets of every possible job. This business is a unique one in that you have to know a whole lot about a whole lot. The most important role is that we are in the business of helping people raise their children- and there is no greater responsibility. We also maintain and upkeep compliance with the state, local building codes and inspections, and are trying to navigate the process of adding a building. We file 990s, wipe noses, maintain buildings, dry tears, undergo audits, differentiate instruction, purchase property, build curriculum, fix toilets, and whatever else gets thrown our way each day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The modern education system isn’t teaching children to think. It is teaching them to be compliant and repeat memorization of rote facts. Arts integration allows students to draw on prior knowledge and build deep, meaningful connections that allow for synthesis, analysis, and evaluation. These are all of the skills that students need to become successful later in both college and career. Arts integration allows students to learn collaboratively, cross-curricularly, and provides them with hands-on opportunities on a daily basis. And it has probably already worked for you, even though you don’t even know it. If you still remember the electric slide or macarena (and don’t even recall how or when you learned it), or know the words to every song on the radio, the arts have deeply impacted you. Can you imagine if you had been taught core school content through singing or dancing? Odds are, you’d still be singing about irregular past tense verbs, or how to divide fractions.
As adults, we recognize that our colleagues, friends, and coworkers all have individual personalities. They all have different needs in order to be successful in careers and in life. Why don’t we provide children with the same grace? CREATE is an environment where all students are welcomed, encouraged to be themselves, and celebrated for the individual talents that they bring to the table. We don’t expect all of our students to sit the same way, answer questions the same way, or be able to express their knowledge acquisition in the same way.
CREATE is a school that offers a bespoke education to students who are academically advanced, gifted, and creative.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I absolutely could not have accomplished what I have with CREATE without so many people. It has truly taken a village. I am most thankful for my parents (my mom is a retired educator who pours into our school at every possible step), our Board of Directors, my partner Kelly, my closest friends, and my mentor, friend, and biggest supporter, Kim Levine. My closest inner circle has kept me going at moments I was sure I couldn’t continue, and for that I am forever thankful. We have an incredible team of educators and a phenomenal Head of Operations- Eden Kenney. Our enrolled families are huge also huge cheerleaders! We love nothing more than hearing that a student cried on a hurricane day because they couldn’t come to school. (We don’t love that they cried, but we love that they missed us!)
We have also been fortunate enough to have been the subject of so many amazing articles over the years. The 74 Million did a fantastic piece on our school early on, and our partnership with the amazing program Step Up for Students has been life-changing for so many people- not just CREATE and me.
Our school was also a semi-finalist for the Yass Prize in 2023- and that was a huge help- not just in terms of finances- but in building a network of support with other people who are trying to do better for our children.
Pricing:
- $50 application fee
- $300 registration fee
- $8,000 per year tuition (all families receive Step Up Scholarships)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.createconservatory.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/createconservatory
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/createconservatory
