A Message from Lamberto

People often ask me, "Why Gemstone Academy?" I worked in a technology firm for 28 years, and I've been teaching computer science for over 13 years. Currently, I teach at a public high school ranked in the top 1% nationwide, where I teach advanced placement computer science classes. I have my students for three years, and what I've discovered through teaching is that there's a big disconnect between the way we work in the real world and the way we teach in schools.

Don't get me wrong—I think what we teach is amazing. We give students functions and tools, and they learn to put these together to create something new, like a program. Synthesis is the highest level of learning. But the problem is that what students make often has no real-world purpose. After learning computer science with me for three years, many students struggle to make a program that interacts with the outside world. Their programs are good for the teacher to measure what they've learned and to give them a grade, but they lack real-world application.

This is what we wanted to change at Gemstone Academy. Here, we teach students real-world skills. Every project is designed to build a skill set that's truly useful in today's world. At the same time, entrepreneurial thinking is embedded into every project and lesson.

For example, in the very first lesson, we might ask a nine-year-old to envision a product they'd like to see in the world. Once they have an idea, we help them brainstorm and turn it into something concrete. We guide them to visually create what they imagine—sometimes using AI to generate an image. Then, we have them build a website to market their new product, including details like pricing, images, and different pages to advertise and showcase the product. We do all of this with a nine-year-old in just one hour. That's an incredible skill for a young student to achieve.

We continue this process throughout our program: students identify a potential need, create a solution—whether that's software, an app, a website, or even a 3D modeled object—and learn to market it. This whole flow is repeated again and again, so students gain authentic, practical experience.

Our goal at Gemstone isn't just to teach coding; it's to transform students from simply learning how to code into being entrepreneurs and leaders. We want them to see beyond just doing what's assigned—to be the visionary who can identify a new solution others might miss.

When we first created Gemstone Academy, we set out to teach programming. But as AI technology progressed, it became clear that just knowing how to code is no longer enough. The world of technology moves fast, and we realized we had to approach things differently—to set our students apart and make them truly relevant.

Today, Gemstone Academy is about so much more than coding. It's about building students who are leaders, entrepreneurs, and problem-solvers—people with the technical skills to create solutions, but also the experience and creativity to envision what’s possible, and the ability to market their ideas. Whether they're working as part of a team or independently, our students have practiced this process again and again, so they're prepared to tackle new problems and bring ideas to life.

In the age of AI, it's not enough just to know how to program. You need the creativity to see possibilities that AI can’t, and the skills to make an impact in whatever you do. That's what we do at Gemstone Academy—and that's why I believe in it so strongly.