PLEASE TAKE EIC SURVEY to help win an innovation grant!

Hello Incline, Crystal Bay, and North Shore Tahoe community advocates!

On Tuesday I spoke with the Incline Realtors Association about the need and opportunity we have in Incline to solve several challenges we are facing:

1 - WCSD wants to close Incline Middle School due to steadily declining enrollment, 25% building utilization, and high costs to modernize the building. They say there is plenty of capacity to move the 146 students to elementary and/or high school. I and most residents I know think it's much better for these adolescents to have their own space. WCSD and I agree that our young people deserve to have beautiful spaces to do projects with small teams of youth and coaches can co-create real-world community solutions together. The days of 30 student subject-based classrooms, with desks in rows, white boards, paper-based worksheets, and teaching to the test must be updated. We're now talking cross-disciplinary, cross-age projects in "playgrounds" with learners building their portfolios of competencies in all areas of personal and professional development with coaching; physical, social-emotional, imaginal, mental, and integral. This cannot be achieved within the 40+ year old traditionally-designed IMS building. In addition, it's getting harder to recruit good school leaders and teachers who can afford to live in Incline.  

2 - IVGID Board meetings have become increasingly dysfunctional and vitriolic as ideological battles rage about it's fundamental role as a governing and asset-holding entity. A $26 Million gift to build an addition to the Recreation Center for teens was not approved by 1 trustee. The well-liked General Manager was forced out along with other unilateral and unpopular actions that have led to a multiple Trustee recall now underway. Another initiative is underway to create a City of Incline with the hope of operating more effectively than a GID. However, the fundamental disagreements will persist no matter the structure or leadership in place: should we even have taxes, public education, or civil discourse to find a common, higher ground? 

Meanwhile, existing and potential incoming families with children are seeing these issues as red flags that Incline isn't going in the right direction - for education, economic sustainability of a middle class, or quality of civic life. 

What about the wealthy "baby boom" from COVID evacuees coming to Incline for quality of live?  Pre-K programs are bursing at the seams and the LTS waitlist gets longer with the threat of IMS closure. 

I'm a 20 year resident who raised 2 kids here - now in their 20s - living in Bay Area not making ends meet on their own and not sure what the really want to do in life (after very expensive 4 year colleges in CA and changes of majors =(). I've watched my kids suffer through both the private and public school system that remains oriented to stressful standardized testing and college prep - not to learning how to self-develop to one's unique potential. How to love learning with others and creating.

Thanks to 20 years of trying to bring Incline and others into the 21st century of education, I'm optimistic we finally have a pathway to solve our challenges in Incline. Firstly, I'm drawing on my diverse, international life experiences of being a parent leader in public and private schools, a PhD in Transformative Learning and Change, an MBA in muiltinational management and information systems, strategic business and technology consultant with Bain and Co and Anderson Consulting/Accenture, and a BA in systems engineering and economics (GE, IBM, AT&T internships). Then add to that three prototype/pilots conducted in Incline since 2021 and excellent colleagues on the EIC team helping with designing and conducting those prototypes, and endorsement from WCSD leadership to conduct strategic planning for the future of IMS, and I am confident that we are well-positioned to thread this tricky needle to find an exciting, visioning, world-class solution to our growing challenges.

It involves first forming a strategic Thrive Town Incline Design Club with youth, parents, businesses, and residents envisioning scenarios for the physical facility and virtual personal development and collaboration platform and programs. We're already designing these to empower all Incline Middle School students (and more in future as baby boom grows older) as well as of our K-20+ youth (including college and beyond) in the community, employers, community leaders and organizations (non-profits), seniors, all residents and tourists too! Anyone who wants a fun, enlightening, social place to grow themselves personally and professionally -  to learn, play, work, create, collaborate, and innovate together in project playgrounds with latest technologies. Because we're using web3, AI, VR/AR, and blockchain technologies for Thrive World self-directed project collaboration in the metaverse, our kids can work on projects with peers and coaches in Reno, Sparks and across the region - and eventually the state and beyond. 
Our kids can help us engage creatively in dialogue and envision the ideal place where INCLINE, CRYSTAL BAY and NORTH TAHOE youth and communities can thrive together - universally and metaversally!  

Want to be part of the Thrive Town @ Incline Tahoe vision and planning process? 

See THRIVE INCLINE DESIGN CLUB FLYER

Learn more and sign-up to participate through EIC THRIVE ECOSYSTEM SURVEY HERE. 

While you're on that page, you'll see a video invitation to give feedback and endorsement in the survey to help us win a national innovation in education award through the YASS PRIZE.

With their funding and community of leading edge educations, we have the potential to create a truly WORLD CLASS SHOWCASE for vibrant education and community where EVERYONE UNIVERSALLY THRIVES in an increasingly crazy world!!

For more info about that, watch EIC PROGRAM OVERVIEW VIDEO (8 min) describing our programs and inspiring you to COMPLETE THE SURVEY HERE  (https://www.eic-nv.org/club.html).
CAN YOU PLEASE COMPLETE THE SURVEY TODAY OR TMRW morning?

That way I can incorporate your responses to support our YASS PRIZE GRANT application - which is DUE FRIDAY! 

Please SHARE this request with all you know who care about an Incline where everyone thrives - through innovative education, strong leadership, great recreation, and awesome collaborative people! 

With deep gratitude,
Mary Alber
​Executive Director of Education Innovation Collaborative
President of Thrive Towns, Inc.  
[email protected]