Al Rogers, AR Leadership
Air Tutors began in 2015, and over the past decade, we’ve been fortunate to meet and collaborate with incredible people dedicated to accelerating student learning. We’re excited to launch the first installment of our new series, “What I Wish I Knew About Education.” In this series, we invite guests to interpret the prompt in their own way and share 5–10 sentences reflecting on the insights, lessons, or perspectives they wish they had earlier in their educational journey.
Dr. Al Rogers is our first guest, and over the last 30 years, Dr. Rogers has served as a Professor, Consultant, Superintendent, CEO, Principal, and Teacher. Dr. Rogers has used Quantum Learning Leadership to leverage systemic transformation to restore life opportunities for thousands of learners, and here is how he answered our prompt 🙂
Al Rogers, What I wish I knew about Education
“Back when I was a kid, my family went through tough times. There were economic problems and other challenges that were really overwhelming. School was my escape, my source of joy and stability (and meals too). I remember my teachers, Mrs. Lau, Mrs. Chimento, and others were so kind and patient with me. They taught me how to read and write, while also modeling kindness and how to get along with others. Later, when I first became a teacher and then an administrator, I was focused almost exclusively on literacy and numeracy; I wish I had known that the most important things we can teach as teachers are kindness, compassion, empathy, self-discovery, inventiveness, courage, and resilience, (along with literacy and numeracy).
If we as educators and community members understood that our job, in addition to teaching reading and math, was to teach the principles of Ubuntu. I think things would have been so much better for more of the young learners I’ve been able to serve over the years.
Don’t get me wrong, I value teaching math, reading, and the other academic content and skills that equip learners for a happy life, it’s just that I’ve learned that creating a safe environment for students to explore and interact with each other, and helping them be productive and kind in the community, makes all the difference in the world. ” Al Rogers, AR Leadership
I love this piece by Al Rogers because it highlights the importance of creating safe spaces for students—spaces that foster both social-emotional development and academic achievement. As educators, building trust through meaningful relationships is essential; when students feel seen and supported, they become eager and open to learning. With this philosophy in mind, we carefully select tutors who share this relational approach. The result? Remarkable student outcomes and improved attendance across our K–12 tutoring programs, as validated by the research studies of our tutoring program.
Thank you so much, Al, for being our first spotlight partner and if you’d like to reach out to him or learn more about us, feel more than welcome to connect withus by reaching out at hello@airtutors.org.
~ Hasan Ali, Air Tutors / Founder & CEO
About Air Tutors: Air Tutors created the country’s first online high-dose tutoring program back in 2016 and were the first to bring video conferencing into public school district classrooms in 2015. We remain a pioneer in accelerating learning outcomes for students, particularly those behind grade level, English Learners, and special education students.
