Howard Sublett visits Hope High School to see Scrum In Education at work.

I’m not sure how to describe this… well first, I’m sitting in a rental car in Phoenix and it’s a lovely 75 or 80 degrees. But in case you don’t know, I’m Howard Sublett, I am the product owner for the Scrum Alliance, and I had an opportunity to come to Phoenix, Arizona to see something I’ve heard about and read about. This “agile in education” at a place called Hope High School.

Howard Sublett video

It’s— again, I don’t know how to put words to this; but when you get to meet people like this that are the principal, and a certified scrum master of a high school! Where you have got students running in scrum rhythm, and you get students learning in a team where they’ve increased their graduation rate phenomenally. Hope High School is the school for which is the last resort for many kids. They’re there for a lot of different reasons—many not of their own doing—and to walk in here and see the joy that these kids have, the hope (for lack of a better word) that they have for their future. One of the kids graduated today and so they have graduation the moment the kid hits the accumulation of hours. They stop everything. Every kid stops everything and then come out and celebrate the joy that someone graduated on that day.

I wish everybody can come in and see Krissyn Sumare and see Mark French, and see the people here and get to watch these kids go to a scrum board manage their work and look at their working agreements on the wall. To see it up close and personal. I am getting to go from here to actually a CSM class where a group of the teachers and a group of the students are actually in and learning. So I’m hoping they will give me enough permission maybe to do a follow up with them so I’m heading there now. But if you’re not paying attention to agile education or scrum in education I think you should. It will definitely pull on your heartstrings! These kids did for me. Thanks!