Yutaka Tamura, Owen Stearns, & Seth Reynolds On The Founding, Crisis Point, And Ascension Of Excel Academy Charter Schools

In a Pre-Made Podcast first, I have not one but three guests. They were Amherst College classmates who became colleagues in the creation of a charter school, and they have a remarkable story to tell.

Yutaka Tamura (Amherst Class of 1994) founded Excel Academy in 2003. He recruited classmates Owen Stearns and Seth Reynolds to join him on his board. Serving primarily lower-income households in East Boston, Excel nearly collapsed after its first year. This episode reveals not only how and why Yutaka created the school. It takes us inside its first tumultuous year and explains how, with the support of Owen, Seth, and others, he laid the foundation for the academy to become one of the top performing public schools in all of Massachusetts. I learned so much about the importance of culture – what it is and how to build it right. You will, too.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why a crisis of culture nearly doomed the school – and what we all can learn about how to build and nurture a distinctive, healthy culture in our own workplaces
• How Excel Academy pulled itself back from the brink to become one of the top public schools in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in just a few years
• The ways in which the Amherst College liberal arts vision informs Excel Academy even to this day
• The Amherst classmates Yutaka, Owen, and Seth want me to interview next

To learn more, visit:

• Excel Academy
• nXu, Yutaka’s latest endeavor. According to their website, nXu “helps young people explore the unique set of joys, strengths, and values that intersect to drive each of us in a meaningful direction.” In doing so, participants “learn to see our identities as powerful and essential for charting fulfilling future pathways.”