What is Inquiring Minds?

Inquiring Minds is a (501)(c)(3) non profit innovative education company founded in 2014 in Brooklyn, New York. Inquiring Minds USA Inc is a certified woman owned business.

What are the goals of Inquiring Minds?

We collaborate with communities of students, teachers and parents to bring democratic practices and processes into elementary school education, enriching students’ self discovery through listening, inquiring and collective learning opportunities, aiming to foster civic engagement.   

How is Inquiring Minds funded?

We have a nonprofit institute for fundraising. We work with all schools according to their abilities. We may be paid fees directly by schools or PTAs when able, however all of our resources are completely free. 

Three children standing in a hallway, holding American flags. The boy on the right is wearing a white shirt with a black bow tie and black pants. The girl in the middle has long dark hair and is dressed in black. The boy on the left has curly hair, wearing a white shirt with a black tie. They are smiling and appear to be celebrating or participating in a patriotic event.

The Honor Guard for the Step Up ceremony at PS20, 2018

How does Inquiring Minds work?

We develop programs based on the needs of every school stakeholder – this includes administrators, teachers, parents, and students. While older, middle school to college-aged students create classroom resources and spearhead projects, elementary school-aged team members provide input every step of the way. There is no cookie cutter methodology, and our impact on the development of advising team members is as important as the classroom materials we put together.

What schools does Inquiring Minds seek to work with?

We want to work with any accredited school primarily focused on K-8 students. Children everywhere are the future.

What's the first step to work with Inquiring Minds?

Email DK Holland, executive director, at dk@inquiringmindsinstitute.org and we'll start a conversation. When appropriate, we will additionally offer to create a proposal tailored to your needs.

What happens after kids reach high school? Would they lose all the gains made through Inquiring Minds programs?

Children retain much of the value from their elementary school education as they move to higher grades. In particular, our focus on civic engagement provides lifelong benefits.

We also have relationships with like-minded organizations focused on high school civic engagement that we can recommend to students and parents, as well as opportunities for older students to join our team as well.