Microschool Magic in New Jersey: The Village Electric and education entrepreneurship in the Garden State

There is some microschool magic happening in New Jersey these days. You’ll remember that our very first podcast episode back in February was with Jill Perez, a long time teacher and student-teacher supervisor, whose pandemic pod turned into an established microschool in New Jersey with over 40 kids last year and several teachers whom she recruited from the New York City public schools.

Then, in May, we heard from Lorianne Bolotin who, like Jill, turned her pandemic pod into a full-fledged microschool in New Jersey last fall and continues to grow and expand her program this year. 

Today, we get to hear from more New Jersey education entrepreneurs who launched a learner-driven colearning center named The Village Electric in Mountainside, NJ. It opened last fall with 45 kids in grades K-6.

Ben Ashfield and his wife Tammy Tiranasar couldn’t find what they were looking for in terms of schooling options for their own children, so they decided to create it with The Village Electric. They join us today to talk about their vision and to tell us more about why it is that New Jersey is quickly becoming a hub of education entrepreneurship and innovation.