For instance, I was so happy to get an email in my inbox over the weekend from Andrew Speen, a high school student in Andover, MA. We first met Andrew in Washington DC some two weeks during one of our talks and we immediately connected over the need and potential for increased student voice in fighting for quality public education. But before we could even send him a note to follow up about the possibility of working with him as a student leader in our national student petition campaign, Andrew gets in touch with us first - to suggest the idea of a joint fundraiser and petition drive at a local Andover restaurant, where all customers can learn about the important cause, young people can sign the petition, a portion of the profits go to supporting Our Education's work, and the restaurant benefits from heightened visibility and support for a worthy cause.

What a brilliant idea--a quadruple dip of public awareness, youth involvement, fundraising, and community building--that neither Ethan nor I could have ever thought of... let alone execute. It all goes to show how innovation and the best that we as an organization can deliver will ultimately come from the very young people who lead this movement. And the same might be said about our nation as a whole -- if we but trust our youth to lead the way, we'll all be the better for it.