LiberatED Podcast
Kerry McDonald
The LiberatED Podcast tells the stories of the entrepreneurial parents and teachers who are creating innovative K-12 learning options across the US and expanding education options for families.
This twice-weekly podcast is hosted by Kerry McDonald, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and leader of the Education Entrepreneurship Lab. A regular contributor at Forbes.com and The 74, Kerry is the bestselling author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019), and the author of the forthcoming book, Joyful Learning: How To Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling (Hachette, 2025). She has a BA in economics from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University. A mom of four, Kerry lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter at edentrepreneur.org.
This twice-weekly podcast is hosted by Kerry McDonald, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education and leader of the Education Entrepreneurship Lab. A regular contributor at Forbes.com and The 74, Kerry is the bestselling author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom (Chicago Review Press, 2019), and the author of the forthcoming book, Joyful Learning: How To Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling (Hachette, 2025). She has a BA in economics from Bowdoin College and a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard University. A mom of four, Kerry lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter at edentrepreneur.org.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 31, 2024 • 32min
From a Montessori pod to three Acton Academy campuses: Virginia founder Jackie Hill
Jackie Hill is the founder of Acton Academy Hampton Roads in the southeast part of Virginia. A mom of 5 and a Montessori teacher, Jackie wanted a different educational experience for her own children. In 2008, she created a little Montessori learning pod in her living room that kept growing and growing and eventually evolved into a democratic school and later into three Acton Academy campuses. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 28, 2024 • 39min
Magatte Wade on entrepreneurship and human flourishing
Magatte Wade is an entrepreneur and author renowned for her dynamic approach to business and her dedication to fostering economic development in Africa. Born in Senegal, Magatte is the founder and CEO of SkinIsSkin.com, a skincare company providing high-quality, ethically sourced products. Magatte’s entrepreneurial journey began with Adina World Beat Beverages, a company she founded in 2004 that produced drinks inspired by traditional African recipes and emphasized fair trade principles. She is the author of the new book, The Heart of a Cheetah: How We Have Been Lied to About African Poverty, and What That Means for Human Flourishing. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 24, 2024 • 37min
Why this new farm school is in such high demand
Located on beautiful 400-acre organic farm in Smyrna, Tennessee, about 20 miles outside of Nashville, Bloomsbury Farm School began in 2020 with one teacher, Kaiti Dewhirst Monroe, and five homeschooled children, including farmer Lauren Palmer’s own five-year-old. Today, it is a Reggio Emilia-inspired K-5 farm school, with additional parent-child programming for littler ones, that currently serves 86 children with a growing waitlist. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 21, 2024 • 40min
The enduring legacy of the Alternative Education Resource Organization
Founded in 1989 by alternative education advocate Jerry Mintz, the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) continues to provide resources, support, and community for parents, teachers, and learners interested in alternatives to traditional schooling. AERO's Peter Berg joins me today to talk about the organization's enduring legacy and its upcoming, annual conference being held in June in Minneapolis. My podcast listeners can click this link to register for the conference at a discounted rate. "I Quit, I Think," by John Taylor Gatto on AERO's website *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 17, 2024 • 33min
Why one founder decided now is the time to launch a new school in Iowa
Robert Kimble is the founder of Dream Academy in Dubuque, Iowa. A project of the Dubuque Dream Center, an afterschool program that Kimble cofounded in 2013, Dream Academy is opening this August as a faith-based, K-7 private school with plans to grow through high school by 2029. More than 50 students have already enrolled, and all are attending tuition-free thanks to Iowa's new universal school choice program. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 14, 2024 • 29min
Corey DeAngelis on The Parent Revolution
Corey DeAngelis discusses the rise of school choice and the impact of teacher unions on education. He explores the influence of COVID-19 on parent empowerment, navigating hyper-partisanship for school choice advocacy, empowering parents through education entrepreneurship, and promoting parental choice in education.
May 10, 2024 • 40min
Unschooling at The Dandelion Project, where learner agency is key
Hannah Mackey and Lauren Umlauf are former teachers who cofounded The Dandelion Project, an unschooling community in Philadelphia that offers daytime programming for homeschoolers as well as after school programs and summer camps that emphasize self-directed education. They also do homeschooling evaluations for homeschoolers throughout Pennsylvania through an unschooling lens. 45 Years of Microschools in Philadelphia: Inside the Growing Movement of Child-Centered Schooling Alternatives (The 74) *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 7, 2024 • 44min
Blending neurodiversity & learner-driven education at Acton Academy Red Rock
Amy Novak is a former teacher who in 2021 launched Acton Academy Red Rock in southern Nevada. Acton Academy Red Rock is part of the fast-growing Acton Academy network of learner-driven microschools that was founded in 2009 and now includes more than 300 schools serving thousands of learners. Amy's program is intentionally inclusive of neurodiverse learners and those with special learning needs including children with autism, dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, and related diagnoses. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
May 1, 2024 • 47min
Miami Sudbury School founder talks about self-directed education
Christen Parker-Yarnal is the cofounder of the Miami Sudbury School in Miami, Florida, a fully self-directed, democratic K-12 private school modeled after the flagship Sudbury Valley School that was founded in Massachusetts in 1968. Christen was a conventional school teacher for several years in St. Louis, then moved back to Miami where she grew up, unschooled her 3 children, and launched Miami Sudbury School in 2018. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
4 snips
Apr 29, 2024 • 29min
How one innovative school is helping to combat chronic absenteeism
Anna Graves, founder of The Field Academy, discusses combating chronic absenteeism by picking up students in a van for immersive learning experiences. The school focuses on personalized education, hands-on learning, and community partnerships to engage students and boost attendance rates.
