These posts are reflections, questions, and ideas from Steve Heath, FabNewport’s founder and Executive Director. They capture what we’re learning—alongside young people, families, and partners—about belonging, agency, learning, and what it takes for kids to thrive. They are also shaped by what we’re reading and listening to, drawing from research, stories, and voices that challenge and inform our work. Some posts are polished, some are still in progress, but all are part of a shared inquiry into how young people grow and how communities can better support them.
When FabNewport alum Teo Janiga headed to Fordham University, he thought his future might be in marketing. Three years later, after a semester studying abroad in London, a job behind the bar at a New York City restaurant, and a …
I am writing this on the train ride home from Education Reimagined’s Where Learning Takes Root Summit in Baltimore.
Nearly one hundred people gathered from both coasts and everywhere in between—educators, learners, parents, funders, community …
On Wednesday afternoons this spring, two fourteen-year-old boys boarded the Route 60 bus headed for Newport.
One lives in Providence. The other lives in Johnston. They both go to the Met School. I got to …
Last week we tried a little experiment at FabNewport.
Five staff members joined a text chain where we simply began dropping reflections into one shared stream. No prompts. No required format. No assignments. Just moments noticed in real time.
A …
I was out with kids the other day.
Running. Climbing. Exploring. Laughing in that unfiltered way that only happens when no one is watching too closely.
We weren’t optimizing anything. There was no curriculum in the traditional sense. No screens. …
Fundraising is hard.
It’s not something I ever imagined being part of my role when we started FabNewport. I’ve had different kinds of sales experience over the years—selling clothing, even making cold calls for Greenpeace—but nothing quite prepares you for …