Granite Hearth

08/06/2026

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said it plans to restore some of the funding that had been revoked, after a court ruled that Trump administration couldn't outright terminate the Digital Equity Act.

07/31/2026

Talked to one of our interns this week about the teaching skill of flexibility.

More here:

07/31/2026

| Day 15 🚀

doesn’t always begin in a high-tech lab. Sometimes, it starts with an idea and the determination to build it.

Meet Granite Hearth and discover how creativity, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurship can create new possibilities.

Preview the Summit 🔗 https://www.imts.com/smartforce/

Preview the Granite Heart Exhibit # 211854 🔗 https://directory.imts.com/8_0/floorplan/?hallID=21&level=1&st=hall&sv=21&ss=exhibitor&selectedBooth=booth%7E211854

The Summit is brought to you by International Manufacturing Technology Show, AMT - The Association For Manufacturing Technology, and SME.

Tooling U-SME SME Education Foundation

07/24/2026

A week at Cub Scout camp reminded me that the best teams are not made up of people with the same strengths. They are built by leaders who help everyone do their best. Here's how that lesson shapes the way we think about partnerships at Granite Hearth.

Great teams are not made up of people with the same strengths. They are built by leaders who recognize different talents and create opportunities for everyone to do their best.

07/17/2026

What if listening is a STEM skill?

This week I introduced 4 Stories, Granite Hearth's new Qualitative Investigator Kit.

For years, I have worked as a mixed methods researcher. Numbers tell us what happened. Stories often help us understand why.

We created this kit to give learners a hands on introduction to interviewing, identifying patterns, and making evidence based interpretations, the same skills used in research, product design, healthcare, and continuous improvement.

More here:

Can listening be a STEM skill? Introducing 4 Stories, a hands-on kit that teaches learners to interview, identify patterns, and build evidence-based interpretations from people’s experiences.

07/14/2026

Proud to get this started!

07/10/2026

Granite Hearth's journey began with one family's $10,000 gift. Looking back, it's remarkable what that vote of confidence made possible.

A reflection on why individual donors matter more than ever.

A reflection on why individual donors matter more than ever.

07/03/2026

NDIA's latest national report offers more than encouraging results. It signals that the future of Digital Navigation will depend on strong curriculum, thoughtful evaluation, sustainable funding, and community partnerships.

My reflections on it here:

Reflections on NDIA’s Latest National Report

06/26/2026

Awards recognize success. Communities build it.

A reflection on why my family chose Dover more than a decade ago and what I have learned watching a strong community invest in its students over time.

https://open.substack.com/pub/rfeistmangh/p/community-is-built-long-before-success?r=6gh7uf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Thank you Dover School District, SAU11!

When my family moved to New Hampshire, I had a unique opportunity to visit nearly every school district in the state. This is why we chose Dover, and what its recent national recognition taught me about how strong communities are really built.