William Zhou – Chalk

In grade 10, William Zhou royally pissed off his teachers.

He and some friends created an online forum where students could talk about school and share notes and pictures. But there was one issue: he didn’t get permission to do it.

What followed was his first formal meeting with the teaching body. “Presenting to 70 or so adults was not easy,” William says, “but they saw what it could be used for, and more and more we started collaborating.”

Now he’s the founder and CEO of Chalk, a platform that gives teachers the tools and insights they need to understand and personalize education for every student in their classroom.

William is not a teacher himself. His background is actually in computer science. But his passion comes from two sides: a love of technology and a deep appreciation for teachers.

His fascination with technology began when he was only 5 or 6 years old, living in Beijing.

His grandparents were among the first in China to work in computer science. “I was brought into a workplace with my grandma. There were no toys to play with, so I was given a keyboard,” he says. “I saw characters being printed on the screen and that really, without me consciously knowing it, sparked the whole idea of technology for me.”

He devoured any and all information on the subject. “I remember just going to the library, reading books on basic (the programming language) and being awed by how you can make the computer take an input and spit it out back to you,” he says.

“It was this magical moment and I said, well, what else can I do with it?”

That curiosity led to the school forum he created with friends, as well as a small side project filming and selling recordings of school concerts as mementos (with approval this time, of course). The principal approached him about revamping the school’s website as well, which he did after hours with a small team for extra credit.

Now, the second half of the story – an appreciation for teachers.

William’s family immigrated to Canada when he was 10. He didn’t speak a word of English, so he took ESL classes to help with the transition. And one teacher really stuck in his mind.

“She was super tough… and I didn’t like it at all,” William says. He and his friends cut corners on their work, but she soon caught on and called in his mother. He was terrified when he learned what kind of an impact it could have on his records and college applications.

But she didn’t report it. Instead, she turned to him and said, “I see that you can do better. Trust that you can do better. I know that you can do better and I want to see that.”

So he did.

Looking back on his high school years, he also remembers teachers who taught him that literature was a fascinating reflection of life and history, and that drama wasn’t about acting, but self-expression. He also saw how the teachers and faculty supported him around the projects he created.

“Everyone contributed more than just the study itself and that culminated into who I am today,” he says. “They had encouraged me to do what I love because they see that.”

So how did Chalk come out of this?

Well, it was during his first visit back to Vancouver after moving to Waterloo for university. “I made a point to go out and visit my teachers,” William says. When he sat down to talk with them, “that’s when they proceeded to school me about what their job actually entails.”

He was shocked to learn about the mountains of paperwork they bring home and binders of information they need to know inside out and backwards. He learned what truly goes into passing on knowledge to students. “They have to devise strategies in teaching. They have to understand the students themselves.”

That was the spark he needed. “It was the moment I said, I have these skill sets, I know how to manage a small team, I knew how to build. Let me help you out,” he says. “It became a duty to help my old teachers.”

Chalk started out as a lesson planner, but grew into a task manager that tracks student performance and helps teachers make better educational strategies based on real data from their classrooms.

“They’re using these daily applications to better their workflow. What can we decipher from what they’re doing? Are there insights that we can gather that can better inform how we plan our academics?” William says.

The goal is to create a better educational ecosystem where teachers can help every student reach their potential, just like his teachers did for him – even if he did start off on the wrong foot.

His own story would certainly be different if it happened any other way.

Learn more at:
https://www.chalk.com/