Exceptional Minds opened its doors in 2011 as a nonprofit organization to prepare young men and women on the spectrum for careers in movie post-production and other digital arts fields. Unique to the school is its specialized curriculum providing its students with certification training and testing on key software programs as well as paid work experience in the field, including post-production work on films Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, American Hustle and Lawless. Despite the lack of government funding for such programs, and with a higher cost per student than comparable schools, Exceptional Minds has successfully grown its student population three-fold in as many years. Full-time student tuition is set at 50% of the per-student cost of what it takes to operate the school, the balance funded exclusively by individuals and organizations.
Jerry is a close family friend of an Exceptional Minds student, and has witnessed firsthand the value of the school's vocational program for preparing young adults for careers in the digital arts. “The biggest fear as the parent of a child with autism is what happens when the school bus stops coming. Very little is available to help these young people become productive citizens, and government funding for these types of education programs are nonexistent. We’re changing that at Exceptional Minds with the help of people like Jerry,” says Mollie Burns Keith, a gemologist whose son, PK, attends Exceptional Minds part-time where she also sits on the board of directors. We are thrilled, honored, and humbled to be in a position to help Exceptional Minds and its students. We thank you for supporting this organization by choosing to buy with Trumpet & Horn.