Forgive me for the back to back Olympics inspired Monday Thoughts, but I had a compelling personal moment on Friday that led to this. Steph Curry is undoubtedly a wizard and one of the greatest basketball players ever. In fact, he had a fairytale performance in the gold medal game that will definitely go down…

I am an advocate for contemporary artists and art making and have spent a disproportionate amount of my time trying to understand “what is well done and what is for me”. This is the lens that I look through when I think about collecting art and living with it.   But, beyond the notion of…

Check out this image. What a beautiful reflection of the commitment and outcomes that are happening every day at One River this Summer. When I walk into our schools, this is what greets me and it is pure joy to see the look on everyone’s face.   Every year at about this time, I feel…

One of the coolest things about our summer camp experience is the Friday Exhibition / Recap. Parents and friends join us at all of our schools and our student campers get to present their artwork / outcomes. What makes this most fun for me is hearing our Teens and kids present in their words what…

It has been almost 250 years since we declared our independence. I am grateful to be an American and notwithstanding the challenges we face today, we continue on our journey as a country that is continuing to evolve and to do its best across a magnitude of complicated topics. Having said that, as an art…

For the last 20 years, I’ve invested my life in creative education, and I have seen the blessing of what it can do for adults and kids through the lens of my experiences as CEO of School of Rock and One River School. The metaphor, “grow or fold”, is a concept that I have grabbed…

Take a look at the image. The smile and the pride on our student’s face. The artwork on display. And, our bold statement above.   I often ask parents, “what would make a difference in your kid’s life?”  And, quite often I hear a blend of: “I want them to be happy”, “I want them…

It is showtime at One River School … each of our locations have either had their official Student Exhibition opening or it is about to happen.  Either way, our fifteen locations in six states are celebrating the amazing efforts of our students and team, and having previewed a bunch of the artwork, I am so…

Artists like Jeffrey Gibson inspired me to create One River School and these days Jeffrey’s art and his personal story are inspiring others across the world. He is representing the United States this year in the Venice Biennale and this recognition is so deserving given both the unique art that he makes and the wonderful…

What better way to understand the current projects in process than to hear from London, an eight year old student at our Englewood, NJ location. Click here. Her class project that will be exhibited in June is titled “Character Turnaround” and London shares a little bit about the project and why she’s excited about the upcoming…