Six Years of “Yes, And”: What Wilson STEM Academy Has Taught Us About Iron-Clad Resilience
In the last few days of summer vacation before a school year begins, there is a specific kind of electric energy that fills the air.
If you’ve ever been a student, a teacher, or a parent, you know the feeling. It’s a mix of back-to-school jitters, new sneakers, sharpened pencils, and that unspoken, hovering question: What is this year going to look like?
As I sit here gearing up for the new school year, adjusting lesson plans, and double-checking schedules, I’m feeling that familiar surge of excitement. But this year, it hits a little different—because next week marks the official start of Year Six of Planet Improv’s partnership with Wilson STEM Academy.
When you do the math on a full school year, including direct instruction and essential prep time, we invest roughly 92 days and 460 hours each year into this work. Multiply that over six years, and that’s nearly 2,800 hours of shared energy, growth, and connection forged right there in the classroom.
Six years.
Did you know that traditionally, the symbol for a 6th anniversary is iron? Iron represents strength, stability, durability, and a bond forged under pressure. In our world, six years means almost two entire middle school cohorts have walked through those doors as quiet, hesitant 6th graders and walked out three years later as confident, expressive young adults. That kind of transformation isn’t built overnight. It takes an iron-clad commitment to showing up day after day… or in our case, B-Day after B-Day.
And the milestone math doesn’t even stop there.
As we step into this 6th year with Wilson, Planet Improv is officially blowing out the candles on our 20th birthday. Two decades of bringing applied improv to schools, organizations, and communities! On top of that, I’m personally marking 25 years as an improvisational theatre professional. That’s a quarter-century of making things up on the spot, failing forward, laughing through the chaos, and teaching others to do the same. (And don’t let my youthful good looks, Energizer Bunny energy, and ADHD personality fool you; I’m two years into my 6th decade of life, and some days I feel every single second of it!)
The “Sugar-Crunchy” Secret of Applied Improv
When we first brought creativity, imagination-building, and social-emotional learning with a sugary, crunchy applied improv shell to Wilson STEM six years ago, people asked us the obvious question: “Improv in a STEM school?” On paper, analytical science and off-the-cuff thinking might seem like oil and water. But anyone who has ever stood in front of a room of middle schoolers knows the truth: logic gets you through the test, but adaptability gets you through life.
Wilson STEM Academy is a vibrant Title I middle school serving a rich, diverse population of African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, and other minority students. In spaces like this where young people are navigating systemic barriers, adolescent growth, and big dreams all at once, arts integration isn’t a luxury or an extra credit assignment. It’s a lifeline. It’s a space where every voice matters, where background doesn’t dictate potential, and where every story is worth telling.
An Unexpected “Yes, And” Moment
Looking back, the way this partnership started feels like a classic improv scene: completely unexpected, a little chaotic, but pure magic in the end.
It was the tail end of the COVID pandemic. Planet Improv had just been awarded a major SAFE Charlotte anti-violence grant, and time was ticking. School administrators across Charlotte and the entire country were buried under the daunting task of figuring out how to bring students back into classrooms safely. We were frantically calling schools, searching for a partner for the upcoming school year, and getting nowhere fast.
Then came a call completely out of the blue.
The principal at Wilson STEM had read an article about Planet Improv in the Charlotte Observer. He called to tell us that our mission lined up perfectly with their philosophy: using arts electives and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to complement their core STEM curriculum. Before I knew it, I was on a Zoom call with the principal, their lead social worker, and a teacher who was launching a brand-new leadership and entrepreneurship class. In that one virtual room, everything clicked. They needed us, we needed them, and a six-year journey was born.
From “Fun Uncle” to Daily Fabric
When we first started at Wilson, Planet Improv was used to being the “fun uncle” or the “cool grandparents” of education. You know the dynamic: we’d visit the students, spend a very short amount of time with them, have a blast, get everyone fired up and full of energy… and then hand them right back to their “parents” (their hard-working teachers) to handle the rest!
Partnering deeply with Wilson STEM changed that completely. We weren’t just dropping in for a quick visit anymore; we were becoming part of the daily fabric of the school, showing up consistently and building real, lasting relationships.
In improv, our golden rule is “Yes, And.” You accept whatever reality your partner gives you, and you build on it. That initial Zoom call was the ultimate “Yes, And,” and over the last five years, the students at Wilson STEM have given us a masterclass in what that rule looks like in the real world. They’ve forged an iron strength of resilience in its purest form.
We’ve seen kids walk into our circles terrified to speak above a whisper. Kids who spent the first three sessions staring firmly at their shoes, praying we wouldn’t call on them. And then, slowly, the magic happens. A game breaks the ice. A silly scene releases the pressure. The room erupts in laughter not at anyone, but with everyone.
Suddenly, the student who wouldn’t make eye contact is stepping up, taking a risk, failing gloriously, laughing it off, and trying again. That’s not just theater. That’s learning how to navigate anxiety, build self-advocacy, and bounce back when life throws an unexpected curveball.
Like iron, consistency is forged over time. One-off workshops are great, but sustained impact requires showing up year after year. It means becoming a familiar, trusted fixture in the hallway rather than just outside guests. It means showing these students that we are in their corner for the long haul.
As we stand on the threshold of Year Six, backed by 20 years of Planet Improv and 25 years of my own improv journey, I’m deeply grateful to the administrators, teachers, and above all, the incredible students at Wilson STEM Academy who have welcomed Planet Improv into their world. You have taught us as much about courage, strength, and community as we could ever hope to teach you about the additional transferable skills that the arts, creativity, imagination-building, and social-emotional learning do so wonderfully and effectively.
We’re ready to step back onto that figurative stage next week and do it all over again.
💡 Coming Up Next Week:
We can’t keep this iron bond strong alone. Next week, we are opening a special opportunity for our entire Planet Improv family to step into the scene with us and support this ongoing work at Wilson STEM Academy. Keep an eye on your inbox and right here on the blog in a week!
Until then, get ready. Year Six is about to begin, and we can’t wait to say “Yes, And” to everything it brings.