The OpenEd Podcast

When Colleen Dippel was a fifth-grade public school teacher in Houston, she got called into the principal's office and told never to tell parents about two higher-performing charter schools down the street. In this episode, Colleen pulls back the curtain on how schools quietly pass kids along with good grades while hiding basic skill gaps, why her own son's public school kept paid-for textbooks locked in a back room, and how parents can tell in 15 minutes whether their child is actually learning.Read the show notes: https://opened.co/podcast/colleen-dippelAbout Colleen Dippel:Colleen Dippel is the founder and CEO of Families Empowered, a Texas-based nonprofit that has helped more than 116,000 mostly low-income families choose and access K–12 schools that fit their children.- Families Empowered: https://familiesempowered.org/

Ashley Partridge homeschools two second-grade boys near Nashville with a 24-month-old and a 12-month-old at home. Her school day used to start at nine and end by lunch. Then the babies came, and the schedule had to bend around naps, snacks, and a baby who doesn't sleep.In this conversation with Ela Bass, Ashley explains how she tailors school to her family's life instead of the other way around. GUEST: Ashley Partridge, stay-at-home mom of four and homeschooler in Tennessee since 2023. Instagram: @happy.hearts.homeschool · TikTok: @apartridge232CHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:11 The gut feeling she couldn't shake before kindergarten03:03 He didn't talk until almost four. Then what?07:02 Close the books and start again tomorrow08:22 Done in an hour or two: is that enough?10:33 Two boys, one grade, and the meltdowns that forced a reset12:55 The homeschool struggle nobody talks about13:47 The baby who hasn't slept, and the floor that can wait17:01 Her real schedule with two babies at home22:14 A week of co-ops, tutorials and à la carte classes25:05 Reverse planning: write down only what got done29:50 "Why am I on lesson 14 and he's on 29?"33:39 The socialization question, flipped40:26 The curriculum she almost switched45:46 Instagram homeschool vs. real life49:01 Her best advice when nothing is working50:09 Think you're not made for this?

Anita Scott was homeschooled before Texas settled that it was legal, then became a principal in South Dallas. Her method, in classrooms and at the kitchen table: build the culture first, let kids write the rules, and keep them yourself. Now policy director at the Texas Homeschool Coalition, she tells Ela Bass how it works.00:00 Preview00:26 Meet Anita Scott01:34 Homeschooled when it was still illegal in Texas03:06 From homeschool kid to public school principal04:24 What makes an education "good"? Parent involvement08:03 Turning around a class that lost three teachers15:55 Who supports the homeschool mom?19:09 What she loved about being homeschooled22:59 Policy wins for homeschoolers in Texas27:19 Why she got into policy: laws written by people who never taught34:08 How should we measure teachers and students?45:51 Homeschooling's honest strengths and weaknesses51:15 Why culture comes before curriculum53:03 How to build culture in your homeschool01:01:19 Structure vs. flexibility: let your kids show you the pace01:05:00 Setting classroom norms that kids help make01:16:56 Where to find Anita

Andrea Fife spent 10 years teaching fifth grade. Then she joined OpenEd as a homeroom teacher, reading the learning logs families sent in every week, and within a couple of months those logs had upended what she thought she believed. Now OpenEd's Chief Academic Officer, she tells Ela Bass what families should do first and what they can stop worrying about: why OpenEd is not a school, the question to answer before you buy any curriculum, what turns a good learning log into a great one, and what she tells parents about testing and special education. Read the show notes: https://opened.co/podcast/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-openedABOUT ANDREAAndrea Fife is the Chief Academic Officer at OpenEd, where she leads the learning department. She taught fifth grade for 10 years and found out at 36 that she had ADHD. Her earlier conversation on homeschooling a child with ADHD: https://opened.co/blog/homeschooling-a-child-with-adhdChapters00:00 The one episode to send every new OpenEd family01:20 The three words every OpenEd parent needs to hear02:01 OpenEd is not a school. So what is it?05:10 Before you buy any curriculum, answer this08:09 When your kid breaks your own rules about screens09:51 Overwhelmed? Point at the screen and pick one12:10 "Baking is math": what parents taught a 10-year teacher14:49 The teacher in the passenger seat17:24 The learning log that gets a great reply21:24 Testing: what it's for and what to do with the results33:09 Special education, IEPs and getting help sooner43:33 "Should I be worried?" Reversed b's and d's46:04 Two grades behind in math: where to start47:54 "They don't care. You do."50:11 Several kids, several ages, and no burnout52:19 Why she brought a piano into her classroom

Ruth Rinaldi got through a maths degree without knowing her seven times table. She went on to run the maths department at a UK secondary school, then left the system, and today she has done no formal written math with her own two kids, ages 7 and nearly 10.She tells Ela Bass why math feels so hard for so many kids: not the subject itself, but how it's taught, with timed tests, right-or-wrong marking and rules handed out before anyone understands them. She also explains how math anxiety passes from parent to child, why stress crowds out working memory, and what she does at home instead of a curriculum.FIND RUTHJoyful Maths with Ruth: https://joyfulmathswithruth.co.ukInstagram:   / joyfulmathswithruth  Facebook:   / joyfulmathswithruth  Multiplication Without Memorisation, her course for parents: https://joyfulmathswithruth.co.uk/par...CHAPTERS00:00 "I didn't even know my seven times table"00:30 Welcome01:33 When a child's anxiety seems normal04:18 Why a head of maths left the school system09:20 Jo Boaler, number sense and six-second times-table tests12:11 Why school teaches math this way: a curriculum for walking15:46 Why is math so hard for so many kids?20:35 How math anxiety passes from parent to child21:58 No formal math at home, ages 7 and nearly 1025:59 Number sense: one question, several ways30:37 Follow the child: struggle, readiness and a scientific calculator34:56 Why she does the writing for her kids37:38 Working memory: why stress makes you worse at math39:16 Stop trying so hard to make math fun41:54 Free puzzle sites: youcubed, Transum, NRICH42:51 When kids out-think the formula48:30 How long to keep math informal51:42 Where to find Ruth

Justine LoMonaco and Cynthia Holt, homeschool educators and co-founders of The Learn + Live Letter, explore how play, connection, and children’s interests can shape family learning. They unpack the unit study approach, from dinosaurs spanning literacy, math, and history to teaching ages 3 and 12 together. They also discuss community, life seasons, neurodiversity, educational requirements, and what to do when learning turns emotional.

Before homeschooling, Blanca Montelongo worked in a public school as a registrar, sorting incoming kids by income, background and last name. Eight years in, she talks with Ela Bass about the fear she hears most from moms: "I don't think I can do it."IN THIS EPISODE- What she says to a mom who tells her, "I don't have the patience"- The one thing every family needs before they start, or they go back- Why finding a homeschool community is "kind of like dating"- The year her entire curriculum was one subject- What she does before she reaches her limit, not after- The one test her son ever took, and what she decided afterwardFIND BLANCAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/blancalight.m/

Cassie Olguin nearly didn't homeschool, and not because of the workload. She could not pick a curriculum. "There's like eleven billion homeschool curricula, and ways to do it, and methodologies for teaching... it was so loud at a certain point that I almost didn't do it."In this episode, she explains how to choose a homeschool curriculum without needing anyone else's opinion, including the day her own written rule convicted her for teaching her twins the same math because it was easier for her.GUESTCassie Olguin - Alternative Education Content and Events Manager at Outschool and homeschool mother of three.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassies.hs.corner/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassieolguin/Outschool: https://outschool.comCHAPTERS00:00 She believed every stereotype 01:51 Bullying, standardized testing, and the opt-out fight 08:48 Convincing her husband, and the backup plan 14:13 Decision paralysis, and Homeschool 101 17:09 Find your people 19:42 Where to start, and writing a mission statement 22:41 Matching curriculum to how each kid learns35:14 "You're not a licensed teacher," and the reading timeline 39:08 COVID, and a completely different world than thirty years ago 43:37 Pressure, choice, and why opinions are hard to change 47:58 Resources for the early years 51:17 Where Outschool and enrichment centers came in 55:14 Dual enrollment, and what school doesn't teach 01:01:54 Rapid fire and where to find her

Liz Powell spent nearly two decades in public education, nine of them as a public school principal. She left when her own daughter reached school age. She looked at her own kindergarten team, "all talented, lovely, amazing people," and could not find a classroom for her. In this episode, she explains the differences between homeschool and public school.Read the full show notes: https://opened.co/blog/homeschool-vs-public-schoolGUESTLiz Powell - former public school principal, now homeschooling three in southern MaineInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/principal_in_pajamas/CHAPTERS00:00 Behind the public school curtain00:52 Who actually makes the decisions03:30 "I would go at war with central office"05:27 Why a principal ended up pro-homeschool07:00 "I couldn't find the right room for her"08:55 When data helps and when it doesn't10:20 Why intervention arrives too late13:20 When your salary depends on test scores14:14 Why the system takes homeschooling personally15:26 The yellow star18:24 "We start kindergarten way too early"19:41 Play teacher with your child20:55 "I'll be very vulnerable. It was so hard."23:50 "I might rock your world here"27:41 Is a teacher better than a mom?30:04 The first year: glitter pens and lost control31:48 Jump to the words, clap to the words35:33 The learning basket37:02 Tips for a first-year homeschooler40:48 ADHD in a forty-five-minute lesson45:24 "I never met a family that regretted it"45:51 The purpose of education

Tanner Bowman taught computer science in a public high school for ten years, deleting one classroom rule per year until attendance in his class was optional. He now runs Optio, an accredited K-12 program built on one move: start with what the kid already cares about, and let the subject arrive as a requirement of the goal. A sixteen-year-old who hated online algebra was doing mathematical analysis of the stock market on his own time. That analysis became his math credit.This episode: 0:00 – Cold Open: The Kid Written Off by School0:27 – Meet Tanner Bowman & What Optio Is1:03 – Inside Optio: Quests, Not Grades4:10 – Tanner's 10 Years in Public School Fighting for Autonomy10:06 – Sage on the Stage vs. the Gardener14:13 – The "Kids Who Don't Want to Learn" Myth18:09 – Rethinking Curriculum for the Internet Age25:23 – Turning Passions Into Math, Science, and More29:47 – Why Optio Killed Letter Grades36:42 – Scaling Personalization With the Quest Model41:47 – Detoxing Kids From "Public School Brain"46:18 – Helping Kids Find What They Actually Love53:44 – Rapid Fire: Advice for Parents & Teachers57:04 – Optio x OpenEd: Turning Passion Into Real Credit59:35 – Where to Find Tanner & OptioGUESTTanner Bowman, founder of OptioWebsite: https://optioeducation.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/optio_educationEmail: [email protected]