Today we’d like to introduce you to Allan Sherer.
Hi Allan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, tell our readers some of your backstories.
Thank you for this opportunity to share about our organization, New Way Global.
New Way Global exists to bring real solutions to problems that seem unsolvable. This is the story of how we discovered beauty in the ashes of Covid19. Before Covid, we worked with minority and low-income children in underserved elementary schools. When schools closed in the Spring of 2019, we were immediately aware our children would experience profound learning loss. We started reading about how affluent families created “pandemic pods” and hired teachers to support their children during Covid. We were inspired to create learning pods for children who would otherwise be left behind. A ground-swell of community support allowed us to create ten learning pods in under-served areas of Greenville, serving over 200 children. Our success in moving these children from failure to earning an A-B honor roll was a joy. As a result of this project, New Way was chosen as a semi-finalist for a national award celebrating education innovation during Covid. You can see more about the prize at these URLs: https://yassprize.org/applicants/new-way-global/, https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/2021/11/16/greenville-nonprofit-nationwide-semifinalist-1-million-prize/8586499002/, comeoutstronger.com. The Judson School was the logical “next step” in our goal of providing truly excellent and equitable education.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We were surprised by the community response when we created ten pandemic pods. In approximately six weeks, we raised more than $300,000. As Covid-related school disruption subsided, many of our supporters asked, “What can we do to leverage the momentum for serving minority and low-income children?” Significant conversations ensued with business people, philanthropists, the faith-based community, and other stakeholders. The consensus was that there is broad-based support to “flip the script” for children with little access to an excellent education. The dream is to build a micro-school network in underserved communities across South Carolina. These schools will be located within the targeted communities to be walkable or within close driving distance for the children attending. We opened the Judson School in September of 2022. We currently accept K3 and K4, age children. Next year we will expand to include age 2 as well as K5. The Judson School employs a holistic approach to learning, emphasizing play-based learning with special emphasis on naturalized learning. We focus on core educational competencies with a special emphasis on STEAM learning.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I serve as Pastor of Global Development on staff at North Hills Church, a Community Church in Taylors, South Carolina. In that role, I have developed projects in places as diverse as Ethiopia, Belarus, India, and Colombia. We have created schools, funded investment in economic empowerment programs such as dairies and egg production, and founded one of the first STEM museums in Africa. Our goal is to create projects that build capacity and independence instead of deepening dependence on foreign aid. Over the past 5-6 years, my interest has turned to create simple, scalable education initiatives that build leadership in underserved communities in Greenville and worldwide.
Do you have any advice for those just starting?
To me, the “secret sauce” of development is finding high-character, high-capacity leaders and empowering them to realize their own dreams. There will always be a limit on how effectively we can work from another place and culture. All over the world, there are dynamic and courageous leaders with great ideas to shape their own culture. This is true in America as well. This is a moment of unprecedented educational innovation. I want to support new ideas that create education equity.
Contact Info:
- Website: thejudsonschool.com
- Instagram: thejudsonschool
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085961464810
Image Credits
Students of Judson School
