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In this episode of the Square Pizza Pod, Greg welcomes Jacob Adams, Founder and Executive Director of Inner Spark Learning Lab, for a powerful conversation about what happens when schools stop asking students to fit the system and start redesigning the system to fit students. Drawing from his own journey as a first-generation college student, student athlete, Teach For America educator, and nonprofit founder, Jacob shares how his lived experience pushed him to challenge compliance-driven models of education and build something more human, adaptive, and deeply rooted in student voice.

Jacob also opens up about the real work of building Inner Spark from the ground up, from taking the leap on his first school contract to designing learning environments where students help shape curriculum, choose resident teachers, and explore issues that actually matter to them. Along the way, he offers a compelling vision for why belonging, relevance, and flexibility are not extras in education, but essential conditions for real learning and long-term change.

In this episode, you’ll learn more about:

Why Jacob believes schools should adapt to students more than students should be forced to adapt to school
How his own experiences as a first-generation college student, athlete, and teacher shaped the vision behind Inner Spark Learning Lab
What he saw inside high-performing schools that made him question whether test scores alone tell the full story
How Inner Spark creates learning spaces where students help shape projects, select teachers, and drive more meaningful engagement
What it looks like to build a nonprofit from scratch while staying focused on depth, belonging, and real systems change

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Jacob Adams, Founder & ED - Inner Spark Learning Lab