“I really didn’t like school until I came to Promise Academy,” says Jamill Jackson, a student at the Roberts Vaux Promise Academy in Philadelphia. “I really didn’t wake up until high school.”

Watch this video of Jackson and his schoolmate Brandon Rose explaining why having teachers and school administrators who listen to them has made the difference in their education and in their lives.

Watch Brandon Rose and Jamill Jackson on PBS. See more from Tavis Smiley.