XQ Institute and Youth Speaks joined forces to ask young people across the United States to imagine what high school could be. Together, we facilitated youth led, poetry centered conversations to#RethinkHighSchool in 20 cities across America and launched the National Brave New Schools Online Competition.

THE #BraveNewSchools TOUR
TWENTY CITIES • ONE PURPOSE

IMAGINE WHAT HIGH SCHOOL COULD BE
Working in partnership with Brave New Voices partner organizations, the tour features town-hall style educational events that use poetry as catalysts for dream-building and conversation.
For more, follow
#RethinkHighSchool
#BraveNewSchools
BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS TOWN HALLS
THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS CHALLENGE & CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP 25 FINALISTS & TOP 10 WINNERS!

WINNERS
Jalesha Johnson
Des Moines, IA
Marissa Perez
Pomona, CA
Mike Davis
Pomona, CA
Jola Laguda
Quincy, MA
Elhondra Brazzle
Des Moines, IA
Carlynn Newhouse
Seattle, WA
Nubia Yasin
Nashville, TN
Azura Tyabji
Seattle, WA
Erik Loya-Tolano
Tucson, AZ
Delvin Delaney
Bay Area, CA
Dayana Lee
Norfolk, VA
FINALISTS
Hailey Tran
Lowell, MA
Jackson Neal
Sugar Land, TX
Ibrahim Dahir
Boston, MA
Jolie Gilbert
Baton Rouge, LA
Jazmyne Smith
Baton Rouge, LA
Eliamani Ismail
Washington, DC
Jessica Daniels
Chicago, IL
Michelle Garcia
Lynn, MA
Avery Geter
Sacramento, CA
Isan Francis
Flint, MI
Briana Leung
Pacifica,CA
Krysma Bousquet
Tucson, AZ
Andrew Ruby
Miami Gardens, FL
Ashlyn Stewart
Houston, TX
Youth Speaks and XQ bring community-level engagement into a national movement, shaping our educational environments into those that nurture our young people, help them become active citizens, and prepare them for success in the world.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Brave New Schools is a collaboration between Youth Speaks and XQ: The Super School Institute that powers a national, open, online competition and a series of 20 town halls where young people share their poems, stories, and dreams to reimagine public high school. #rethinkhighschool #bravenewschools
ABOUT YOUTH SPEAKS
One of the world’s leading presenters of Spoken Word performance, education, and youth development programs, Youth Speaks creates spaces that challenge young people to find, develop, publicly present, and apply their voices as creators of societal change.
ABOUT XQ INSTITUTE
XQ inspires communities to help reshape high school so it prepares every student for success in college, career and life. XQ: The Super School Project launched in September 2015 as an open call to rethink and design the American high school. More than 10,000 students, educators, parents and community leaders from all 50 states and representing nearly 4,000 communities answered this call by proposing innovative, student-centered models for 21st-century learning. Today, these innovators and supporters are a community of 78,000 strong and growing. To date, XQ has pledged $115 million to a growing number of the most promising ideas, actively supporting these teams on their journeys to become Super Schools. XQ is led by Co-Founder and CEO Russlynn Ali, former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights under President Barack Obama, and Co-Founder and Board Chair Laurene Powell Jobs, president of Emerson Collective. Board members include Yo-Yo Ma, Marc Ecko, Geoffrey Canada, Michael Klein and Leon Wieseltier. For more information visit XQ Super School.