# Our Greatest Resource Is… Us

The Marshalls - Duke & Jen

Discover how Academic Allies evolved from a one-on-one student coaching service into a mission-driven platform for teachers, leaders, and support staff. Founders Duke & Jen Marshall share their journey to leave education better than they found it.

People Over Programs: Why We Started Academic Allies

We've spent our entire careers in education — more than 70 years combined. Through classroom triumphs, administrative challenges, and thousands of student interactions, we've discovered one undeniable truth: People don't stay in education because of the programs. They stay because of the people.

As we officially soft-launch Academic Allies, we want to be clear: Our greatest resource isn't just a toolkit or a guide. It's us.

Where It Started: One Student at a Time

Academic Allies began humbly — as a one-on-one academic coaching service helping struggling students rediscover learning approaches that actually worked for them. Our focus? Executive function. Metacognition. Confidence.

We'll never forget Michael, a bright sophomore drowning in missed assignments and self-doubt. Working with him taught us that academic success isn't just about content knowledge—it's about building systems that work with how students actually think and learn.

We helped students who were used to feeling defeated figure out how to plan, manage time, break big tasks into small wins, and build systems for success. And it worked — not because we had some secret formula, but because we listened, adapted, and showed up.

We didn't just help them earn better grades. We helped them see themselves differently.

Where We Are Now: A Focused Mission

Somewhere along the way, we realized something powerful: It's not just students who are struggling. Teachers are struggling. Leaders are struggling. And our schools are feeling it.

While we continue our full-time teaching commitments, Academic Allies represents our carefully curated effort to share what we've learned with others who might benefit.

Our initial offerings include:

• Blog resources on executive function strategies for students and educators

• Limited coaching sessions (availability varies by semester)

• Downloadable tools for classroom implementation

Growing Thoughtfully

As fellow educators, we understand the challenge of balancing multiple commitments. We're intentionally starting small and growing deliberately to ensure we can deliver meaningful support while maintaining our classroom responsibilities.

Have questions or suggestions for resources you'd like to see? Contact us through our simple form. We'll review requests monthly and use your feedback to guide our development.

Education has always been about human connection. We're excited to connect with you.