Food for Thought at Nex+Gen Academy

Welcome to the debut episode of NTN Unpacked, the podcast where we bring you the authentic stories of transformation from across the New Tech Network. Hosted by Mark Stolan, this first episode features a special interview led by NTN School Development Coach Missy Saldana with educators from Nex+Gen Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

You’ll hear from teachers Jeff Sisneros, Marila Mancha-Garcia, and Alison Floyd as they unpack Food for Thought — a powerful, school-wide project rooted in student voice, cross-grade collaboration, and real-world impact. What began as a conversation about food waste turned into a full-blown campus movement encompassing:

• Composting and food recovery systems
  
  
• Legislative advocacy and community partnerships
  
  
• Volunteering with local food banks
  
  
• Student-designed gardens and sustainability initiatives

This episode explores how a shared culture goal sparked authentic project-based learning experiences that empowered students to lead, ideate, and create lasting change in their community — and how staff embraced the messiness and magic of innovation along the way.

🎧 Whether you're curious about launching your own campus-wide initiative or just love hearing how PBL drives equity and engagement, this episode is for you.

💡Want to learn more about how to create authentic learning experiences in your school or classroom? Check out this article about Authentic PBL from New Tech Network. https://newtechnetwork.org/resources/authentic-pbl/

📍The NextGen Academy team will be presenting more about this project live at NTAC 2025, July 15–18,2025 in Oakland, CA! Come learn from them at the conference by registering at the following link: https://newtechnetwork.cventevents.com/ntac2025

🔔 Subscribe to NTN Unpacked and follow us on Instagram to stay updated on future stories from across our network. We’d love to hear what you want us to unpack next!

Let us know what you want to hear about next!