LiberatED Podcast

Today's podcast guests are Molly and Noah Stephenson. They have experienced the benefit of small-scale, personalized learning first-hand, initially as unschooling parents and now as founders of the Wildflower Community School, a microschool in Wichita, Kansas. Only about 4 out of their current 35 students would be considered neurotypical, with most of their students having specialized learning needs, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and so on.  For Neurodiverse Children, Microschools Can Be An Ideal Learning Environment (Forbes.com)

Joe Connor founded Odyssey to help connect families to the available education choice programs in their respective states, ensuring that all eligible families are able to access these choice programs. His work also helps to inspire and activate entrepreneurial parents and teachers who are looking to create new education solutions in their local communities. This week, Odyssey announced a $4.75 million seed funding round with the prestigious venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz.  Sign up for Kerry's weekly email newsletter at fee.org/liberated for a deeper dive into podcast topics and related educational trends.

Iman Alleyne, founder of the Kind Academy microschool, shares her vision of expanding the school to 100 schools in 10 years. She discusses frustrations with public charter schools, the intersection of education and entrepreneurship, and the importance of school choice policies. She also highlights the recognition and support received from the Vela Education Fund and the collaborative environment of education entrepreneurship in South Florida.

Shiren Rattigan, founder of Colossal Academy, discusses the microschool boom in South Florida. Topics include entrepreneurship, education options, VELA Education Fund, collaboration, community support, and redefining education.

Mimsy Sadofsky, one of the original founders of the Sudbury Valley School, discusses the origins and enduring success of the renowned self-directed education institution. They explore transitioning to Sudbury Valley School and highlight the affordability, accessibility, and upcoming open house at the school. The importance of open house attendance and the Sudbury starter kit for starting a similar school are emphasized. The significance of self-directed education and the Summer Hill School's influence are also explored.

It’s been a hope-filled week in West Virginia! Yesterday, the West Virginia Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling against the Hope Scholarship program and lifted the injunction on the scholarship to enable West Virginia families to immediately take advantage of this expansive education choice program—which is the second most comprehensive education savings account (ESA) program in the US, after Arizona’s sweeping school choice legislation was passed and upheld this year.  Today's BONUS episode of the podcast features Jamie Buckland of West Virginia Families United for Education (WVFUE), and Katie Switzer of the Monongalia Forest School.  "How One State Went From Bottom to Top in Education Choice and Innovation" (fee.org)

Chris Turner, tech entrepreneur turned education entrepreneur, discusses the challenges and opportunities in building Moonrise.com, a co-learning space for kids. He explores the barriers of expanding to other locations due to regulatory hurdles and highlights the importance of reducing these barriers to encourage education entrepreneurship. The podcast also dives into the challenges faced in launching a co-learning space during the pandemic, the core principles of Moonrise, the limitations in the education sector, and the plans to scale and connect with like-minded individuals.

I have been really excited to see the bundling of education entrepreneurship and innovation in certain regions of the US. You’ll recall that we recently talked about the education entrepreneurship that’s sprouting in New Jersey. There is also a flurry of activity in New Hampshire. I will be spending more time in the coming weeks highlighting the stories of education entrepreneurs who are geographically concentrated, which can often lead to ongoing collaboration and network effects that help to sustain these new enterprises and begin to shift the culture toward a greater embrace of education innovation and schooling alternatives.  Today, I am excited to focus again on Nevada and the burgeoning microschool movement there. You’ll remember back in May we talked to Ashley and Don Soifer from MicroschoolingNV about the gains in Nevada, and especially in the Las Vegas area. And now I am thrilled to introduce you to Emily Grégoire, a Las Vegas homeschooling mother of 4 and education entrepreneur who founded the Rainbow Room as a part-time, full-day, drop-off program for local homeschoolers. 

Hannah Frankman, founder of Rebel Educator, discusses her experience growing up homeschooled and the educational opportunities it provided. She explores alternative education trends and models, the influence of homeschooling and libertarian principles on her journey, and the motivation behind creating Rebel Educator as a central hub for parents. They also discuss the importance of diversity in education and highlight innovative learning models like micro schools.

How do state-level education choice policies influence the amount and variety of education entrepreneurship? Kate Baker Demers and I dig into this question and more in today's lively episode. Kate is the Executive Director of New Hampshire’s Children’s Scholarship Fund, a non-profit organization that helps to administer New Hampshire’s nationally-recognized tax-credit scholarship program, as well as its newly implemented education savings account program. Kate has been a longtime champion of education choice and opportunity, helping families find the best learning environments for their children and supporting entrepreneurial parents and educators who are looking to launch new schools, microschools, learning pods, homeschooling centers, and more.