LiberatED Podcast

Ian Lindsey is the cofounder, along with his wife Stephanie, of Acton Academy St. George in St. George, Utah. It is part of the fast-growing Acton Academy network of learner-driven microschools that includes more than 300 independently owned and operated schools, serving thousands of learners. Ian and Stephanie launched their microschool in fall 2020 with 12 students in their home. They grew to 22 students in their first year, and today have 40 students, pre-K through elementary ages, with plans to open a middle school in Fall 2025 and grow from there.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Sherrilynn Bair is a certified teacher and school librarian who works for the Snake River Public School District in rural Blackfoot, Idaho. In this episode, she shares her experience with in-system innovation, explaining how she created an entirely new school within her district that focuses on personalized learning and curriculum customization. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.  

Ross Hill has been in education for over 15 years, with most of that time spent working as a high social studies teacher in public schools. He quit his teaching job in 2023 to launch Mariner Learning Collaborative, a self-directed learning center in Florence, South Carolina. Mariner is part of the Liberated Learners network of non-coercive, self-directed learning centers for homeschoolers that was launched in 2013. Mariner is the first faith-focused learning center in the Liberated Learners network. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Kristine Fringer was a college administrator for almost two decades before leaving higher education to launch Symbiosis, a learning center for middle school and high school-age homeschoolers located just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Kristine opened Symbiosis in the fall of 2019. She currently serves 20 students with both full- and part-time enrollment options. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Today’s episode is special in that I am joined by both a school founder and a parent so we’ll hear two interesting perspectives on the draw toward alternative education options. Sarah Max is a former public school teacher who cofounded Acton Invictus in 2021 in Leander, Texas, just outside of Austin. Acton Invictus is part of the global Acton Academy microschool network that was founded in 2009 and now includes over 300 schools serving thousands of learners. Tim Tran is an entrepreneur and one of Acton Invictus’s original founding parents. He moved to Texas specifically so that his children could attend an Acton Academy. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Tobin Slaven, Founder of Acton Academy Fort Lauderdale, discusses AI, technology, and the future of learning with a focus on techno-optimism. Topics include AI companions, the impact of AI in education, benefits of technology, personalized learning, and optimism in the future of education.

Kyle Gamba is a former public school teacher and principal who in 2021 launched La Luz, a learner-centered lab school focusing on experiential learning for Latino students in Denver, Colorado. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

When Katelyn Shore opened the first Wildflower Montessori microschool in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014, she hoped it would be the start of something big. The vision, introduced by Sep Kamvar at the MIT Media Lab, was to create an open-source network of intentionally small, storefront, neighborhood Montessori microschools that would offer the tools and technology to enable teacher-entrepreneurs across the country to launch their own microschools. Katelyn’s school would be the prototype. Today, the Wildflower Montessori network consists of more than 60 microschools across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including public charter microschools in Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Most of the network’s microschools focus on early childhood education, but some serve elementary and secondary school children. Wildflower Montessori supports entrepreneurial, Montessori-trained teachers who want to open their own affiliated microschools. The non-profit Wildflower Foundation offers grants and low-interest loans to these startup founders, and connects them with the vast network of Wildflower Montessori educators who share resources, offer encouragement and provide advice and insights. Katelyn continues to run a Wildflower microschool in Cambridge, while serving as an inspiring mentor for current and aspiring Wildflower microschool leaders across the country.  "How Microschool Networks Are Activating Education Entrepreneurs" (Forbes.com) *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

My guest today is Christina Poole, a homeschooling mom of 7 children ages 18 months to 12 years, and cofounder of City Schoolhouse, a low-cost private school in the heart of Louisville, Kentucky. Christina opened City Schoolhouse in early 2017 with 9 students, plus her own 5 children at the time. Today, City Schoolhouse has 45 full-time students, with afterschool programs and vacation camps for local public school students. More than two-thirds of Christina's microschool students receive 100% financial aid assistance. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

What a pleasure to have Lenore Skenazy on the podcast today to talk about a variety of topics but mostly how to give our children the freedom and responsibility that many of us enjoyed as children, before structure and surveillance came to dominate American childhood. Lenore is the author of the popular book, Free-Range Kids, now in its second edition, and is the co-founder and president of Let Grow, a non-profit organization promoting childhood independence.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.