LiberatED Podcast

Nicole Doyle is a longtime homeschooling mom and home education advocate who cofounded the Georgia Black Home Educators Network in 2022. She is also the president of DeKalb Christian Home Educators, a homeschool co-op that’s been serving the metro Atlanta area since 1989.  The Network hosted its first annual Flourish Black Family Homeschool Conference in January 2023 with nearly 350 attendees, and is expecting its January 2024 conference to be even bigger! *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.  

Noah Mayers has been working in education for over 20 years. He was a teaching artist for 8 years in both public and charter schools, then worked as a woodshop teacher at a private school for a year for before launching Brooklyn Apple Academy in New York City in 2010. Located in the Park Slope neighborhood, Brooklyn Apple is a self-directed learning center for homeschoolers and unschoolers. It currently serves about 50 learners who attend part-time throughout the week.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated. 

Dr. LeDonna Griffin is the founder of Leaders to Legends Academy in Omaha, Nebraska. She works directly with families who are seeking alternatives to conventional schooling to educate their children. LeDonna worked in the Nebraska public schools as both a teacher and principal for 30 years. In 2019, she launched Leaders to Legend as a homeschool co-op, and in 2020, interest in her model soared.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Troy Salazar is the founder of Liberty Self-Directed Learning Center in West Des Moines, Iowa. Troy worked in public schools for 22 years, first as a second grade teacher in a rural community in Iowa and later in the Des Moines public schools where he spent most of his teaching career. He launched Liberty SDLC in Fall 2022 after becoming frustrated by the conventional schooling model. Liberty is part of the Liberated Learners global network of self-directed learning centers.  “I remember saying to colleagues and friends, why are there so many unhappy kids? It just blew my mind,” said Troy in our interview. “There were several times in the last few years where I said I can't do this anymore. Then, in my last year, I called my wife and said the idea of our grandkids being in this classroom scares me. I wasn't exaggerating or being dramatic, and it was nothing that the kids were doing. It was the response that the kids were having to this system. They were so checked out.” Read the recent Forbes.com article featuring Troy and Liberty SDLC: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerrymcdonald/2023/07/21/its-the-year-of-universal-school-choice-but-barriers-remain/ Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

The podcast features a keynote presentation on education entrepreneurship and innovation at the 2023 AERO conference. It discusses the impact of COVID on education, growth of homeschooling, and highlights the work of education entrepreneurs. The podcast explores the diverse nature of micro schools and alternative education environments, and the challenges faced by education entrepreneurs. It also discusses concerns and hopes for the expansion of micro schools in the charter school space, explores the potential of school choice policies, and emphasizes the need to support micro schools while protecting educational reform.

Karema Akilah is a former teacher in the Maryland public schools who began homeschooling her children 20 years ago, of which the past 12 have been devoted to unschooling, or self-directed education. Through her personal unschooling journey, she began wondering about the possibilities of Web 3.0, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence to capture the magic of the unschooling educational experience. She launched The Genius School and the Genii DAO app to blend the theory and practice of unschooling with decentralization technologies to help build the future of learning.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Linsey Knerl is a mom of 6 in Nebraska who has been a working and homeschooling mom for over 15 years. In 2021, her book, Homeschool Hacks: How to Give Your Kid a Great Education Without Losing Your Job (or Your Mind), was published by Simon & Schuster and served as a timely resource for the many parents who were drawn to homeschooling as a result of the education disruption caused by the pandemic response. It remains highly relevant today. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.  

Nestled at the end of a residential cul-de-sac in Hopewell, Virginia is Dream Tech Academy, a microschool founded by former public school teacher, Danette Buckley. Dream Tech Academy launched in 2019 with four children, including three of Danette’s own, as a homeschooling and tutoring program. It is now a recognized K-12 private school with about 30 children and four hired educators and is located in an inviting single family home just outside of Richmond that Danette purchased exclusively for her school.  Read Kerry's Forbes article featuring Danette and her microschool. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.    

Matt Dreier and Kristen Braia are the cofounders of a new Acton Academy affiliate microschool, Pace Academy, in North Chesterfield, Virginia, about 10 miles outside of Richmond.  Matt retired from a 20-year career in the US Marine Corps and began pursuing his interest in education. He earned a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and then teamed up with his niece, Kristen, a mom and successful entrepreneur, to launch their microschool. When Pace Academy opens this fall, it will join approximately 300 other microschools in the fast-growing Acton Academy network, and will be one of six Acton affiliate microschools in Virginia. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Kimberly Stringer is the founder of Kreative Kids Academy in Wichita, Kansas, a child-led, outdoor-based licensed preschool that during the pandemic response and school shutdowns expanded to include a school-age program that continues to grow and flourish. I had the chance to meet Kim and visit Kreative Kids and was so taken by its beauty, warmth, joyfulness, and emphasis on the value of abundant outdoor time for children.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.