March 14, 2017

Meet Nishant Mehta of The Children’s School in Midtown

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nishant Mehta.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My journey to Atlanta starts in Mumbai, India where I was born and grew up. I am one of two children, the younger of two boys. I shared a bedroom with my brother, and went to the same private school from pre-kindergarten through tenth grade. We played cricket, soccer, tennis, and other games every afternoon in the building compound with the residents, and generally lived a typical life as most other middle class families in Mumbai. In India, high school ends in tenth grade, and depending on your results on a state or national exam, you choose a career track in the arts and humanities, business, or science. After twelfth grade, you further narrow your choices and begin your undergraduate degree. My father had become a member of the Rotary Club so my brother and I could study abroad as exchange students during our junior year. Rotary has an international youth exchange program and my father was adamant, having spent two years himself in the United States for his MBA, that my brother and I experience living in a different culture, learn a different language and understand customs and traditions different from ours.

We heard about a small boarding school in Asheville, NC called the Asheville School from one of my brother’s friends who had recently graduated from there. I decided I wanted to apply to the school after talking to her. Due to a generous scholarship the school awarded me, my family could afford to send me to Asheville and in August 1996, I was on an airplane to the United States.

Even today, the Asheville School remains the source of my inspiration. I now think back to how at the still half-baked age of sixteen I came here fully expecting to fulfill the stereotype associated with my ethnicity: get my Master’s in Engineering and an MBA, and work as a consultant for a global firm like McKinsey. Instead, I became a middle school history teacher who is now the head of school at The Children’s School.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The first three months at Asheville School were really tough for me – I had an accent and other students made fun of me. My clothes were all wrong, I wasn’t athletic enough, as a vegetarian I didn’t eat the same food as most others. It wasn’t until I came to the United States and experienced being in a minority that I came to grips with my identity. It was only then that I realized – after a full sixteen years and five months – that I am Indian.

The difficulties I experienced those first few months at Asheville School also continue to stay with me. Nothing made me so uncomfortable as those experiences of being teased, of feeling different in a bad way. I learned to adapt, made friends who were accepting and kind, and eventually embraced being a minority and the discomfort that comes with it in this country at times. Embracing that discomfort has, ironically, made me more comfortable with who I am.

The reason I chose to work at The Children’s School (TCS) is because of its commitment to authenticity and for respecting every individual for who they are, not just who they can become. I remember visiting TCS in October 2012 as one of the finalists for the headship. I finished up the day with an interview at Caribou Coffee on 10th and Piedmont. My wife, Neeti, met up with me to travel to the airport. She asked me, “So, how was it?” I still remember my response: “It’s either TCS or none at all.” Neeti asked me what happened to prompt this sense of finality. I said, “It’s only here that you and I can be ourselves.”

Everyone at TCS is encouraged to show up every day as his or her authentic self. The safety, acceptance and sense of belonging I feel here is felt by every student and family in our community.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
The Children’s School is located in the heart of Midtown and serves ages 3 – sixth grade, but we’re expanding to seventh grade next school year and eighth grade the year after that.

TCS was founded in 1970 by Lila McDill as a lab school. Lila believed then, and I believe now, that teachers should listen to what children say; play is central to how a child learns; and all children should be respected for who they are. These principles are still at the heart of The Children’s School today.

Lila intentionally chose Midtown for the school because the location made it accessible to, and able to serve, all of Atlanta. The school is open to “all elementary children whose emotional and intellectual endowment will enable them to work within this group, regardless of race, ethnic, or religious background.” From 1970 until today, our students learn about each other’s cultures, faiths and different family structures. Today, 48% of our student population identify as students of color.

If you visit our school, you’ll see evidence of our “Building Character and Community” (more info on BCC here) all around campus. The program takes four key mindsets – caring and respect for self, others, our space and materials and the environment – and weaves them into everything we do. From lessons to projects, the program exemplifies TCS’s deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, social justice, sustainability, and environmental advocacy. Children learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully, regulate their emotions, speak with a clear, confident voice, and give of themselves as a valued and contributing member of their community.

Our sixth graders – and soon our seventh and eighth graders – grapple with big issues like the refugee crisis (more info here) and civil and human rights (more info here) through an immersive project-based learning curriculum (more info here) which helps them to explore who they are in relationship to their world – distinct from friends, family and teachers. Students develop deep understandings in social studies, history, science, math and writing, and apply that knowledge to solving real world problems.

Along their TCS journey through play and project-based learning (more info here), robust academics, the arts, technology and exciting enrichment and afterschool opportunities, TCS students become compassionate, community-minded, global citizens who are strong, adaptive learners. We graduate confident, skilled young people who value diversity in its many forms and are equipped with the skills to make a difference in the world.

What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
Expansion to 8th Grade
Last May, our board made the decision to extend to eighth grade. We’ll extend to seventh grade next school year (2017-18) and then eighth grade the following year (2018-19). We are in a unique position in Atlanta, due to our history, values and mission, to offer an incredibly powerful and innovative experience for young adolescents. Many expect less of this age or just try and get the children through the awkwardness. At TCS, we firmly believe our children expect more of us and want more to be expected of them. Since the start of their TCS journey at age three, the joy, wonder and curiosity our children develop here; the collaborative and creative skills they acquire; and the drive to impact the world around them, allow them to develop a lifelong foundation as innovators and world contributors. The best lesson TCS offers us all is the spirit of childhood need never end.

Campus and Community Expansion
TCS has launched Fulfilling Our Dream: Campaign for The Children’s School as the initial phase of the school’s three-phase master plan. Through this effort, TCS will construct a new five-classroom building in the northwest corner of the campus. We will also reclaim unused land for new play spaces throughout campus. These spaces will bring immediate benefits to the learning experience for students on campus. Relocation of students to the new classroom building frees up existing space to accommodate the launch of TCS’ seventh and eighth grade. As of February 2017, our school community and local foundations have generously donated to get us to 73% of our 3.5 million dollar goal. It is anticipated that the campaign will conclude this May, and that construction will begin fall 2017 and will be completed by the spring of 2018.

We are also expanding our community by adding an additional counselor to support our building character and community (BCC) curriculum, our character education program that emphasizes developing caring, compassionate and ethical children and young adults, and adding a director of student life and inclusion to advance the school’s mission and core values, and implement a curriculum focus on anti-bias and equity alongside professional development for faculty and parents.

Community Partnerships
One of the advantages to being located in the heart of Midtown is the access we have to cultural institutions, like MoDA (more info here), and community organizations, like New American Pathways (more info here) and International Rescue Committee (more info here). This allows us to move beyond our campus and use the community as our classroom when our teachers use these partnerships as a key component in their project-based learning units (more info here:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHmBhEmv1i8

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