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
Feb 17, 2023 • 46min
A High-Quality, Purpose-Driven Online School: Founder Michael Strong on creating The Socratic Experience
Michael Strong, founder of The Socratic Experience, discusses his high-quality online school that emphasizes personalized and purpose-driven education. Topics include alternative education options, limitations of conventional schooling, advice for parents seeking alternatives, tips for education entrepreneurs, and inspiring stories of education entrepreneurs.
Feb 14, 2023 • 33min
Breaking the School-To-Prison Pipeline, One Microschool At a Time
Turan Rush grew up in West Virginia on Charleston's West Side and was a star football player at Capitol High School, going to on to play at the collegiate level at Eastern Michigan University. He decided to come back to Charleston after graduating in 2021 to make a positive impact on the youth in his neighborhood. He teamed up with Jeff Biddle, a pastor and mentor to Turan, to open a thriving, sports-focused, youth after school program in Charleston. The duo now has their sights set on opening a low-cost private school in the same location as their after school program to provide greater learning opportunities to Charleston's young people. "Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline, One Microschool At A Time" (Forbes.com) Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Feb 10, 2023 • 41min
From Portland Public School Teacher to Microschool Founder
In the summer of 2019, after 15 years of teaching in the Portland, Oregon public school district, Greg Brown resigned to pursue Activate full-time. During COVID, Activate evolved into a full-time microschool with a dyslexia focus, and it continues to expand today to serve more learners in the Portland area. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Feb 7, 2023 • 43min
One Year Podcast Anniversary with Bloom Academy cofounders!
Today marks one year since the launch of this podcast! It has grown so much, with inspiring stories of microschool founders and other education entrepreneurs who are building bottom-up learning models to challenge longstanding, top-down systems. I am thrilled to celebrate today's podcast anniversary with Sarah Tavernetti and Yamila De Leon, cofounders of Bloom Academy, a self-directed microschool in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Feb 3, 2023 • 35min
No self-directed schools need apply: A physics teacher shares why his state prevented him from opening his school
Nick Lachen is a former high school physics teacher with a Master's degree in teaching who, along with his wife, decided back in 2020 to launch a self-directed Sudbury-model school in the Des Moines, Iowa area. The state told them they couldn't. Iowa has some of the most restrictive private school regulations in the US, constraining the entire private education sector there long before introducing school choice policies. Hear Nick's story, including what's next for his family, in today's episode. Iowa Enacts Universal School Choice, But Regulations Will Limit the Supply of Options for Families (Forbes.com) Planning Kit for Sudbury Schools Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Jan 31, 2023 • 29min
A Tour of Adamo Microschools: Tamara Becker takes us on a tour of her second, tuition-free microschool location
Tamara Becker has been an educator for over 25 years, working in both district and virtual schools as a teacher, administrator, special education director, assistant superintendent, and most recently, as the superintendent of Primavera, Arizona's largest online school. In August 2021, she launched her first tuition-free Adamo microschool with 12 students in kindergarten through seventh grade in Fountain Hills, Arizona. In August 2022, Tamara opened her second Adamo microschool in Queen Creek, with plans for additional microschool locations in the coming months. Watch the podcast--and today's tour--on YouTube. Read Kerry's Forbes article about Adamo. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Jan 27, 2023 • 34min
Microschool Builders: Mara Linaberger on helping microschools to launch beginning in 2018
Mara Linaberger worked for 25 years as a public school educator, teacher trainer, and administrator. She has a doctorate in Instructional Technology and has become a leader in the microschooling movement, launching her organization, Microschool Builders, in 2018 that helps to support microschool founders around the world. Mara's book, The Micro-School Builder's Handbook, is a wonderful resource for current and prospective founders. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Jan 24, 2023 • 43min
So much more than a typical private school: Melissa Mohr on shifting from private school educator to microschool founder
Melissa Mohr worked for 17 years as a teacher and an administrator in a traditional private school in West Virginia, but last year she and some of her colleagues decided to venture out on their own to create a microschool. Her City on a Hill microschool opened in Bridgeport, West Virginia in September 2022 with about 50 kids and continues to attract families who want an alternative to a conventional public or private school. City on a Hill blends the freedom, flexibility, and personalization of homeschooling with the structure and support of a classroom experience. West Virginia's new microschool legislation helped to carve a pathway for founders like Melissa. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Jan 20, 2023 • 39min
Want to open a microschool by September? Amar Kumar and KaiPod Catalyst can help
Amar Kumar, founder of KaiPod Learning, recently introduced a new program called KaiPod Catalyst which helps entrepreneurial parents and educators to launch a microschool in their local community. One of the entrepreneurial parents who has teamed up with KaiPod is Ben Ashfield, who was on the podcast in September talking about his New Jersey microschool, The Village Electric. In this episode, Ben updates us on his microschool while Amar shares more about KaiPod Catalyst and how it can help aspiring education entrepreneurs to launch a microschool this year! Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
Jan 17, 2023 • 47min
"Mom, we need to start one!" Why one former public school teacher listened to her daughter and created a microschool
JeVonne Tanner worked as a public high school biology teacher but she and her husband Paul grew increasingly frustrated by the constraints of a conventional classroom, including for their own children. They began to look for something different and discovered Acton Academy, a network of independently-owned and operated microschools that was launched in 2010 and now have more than 280 affiiliated microschools worldwide. At the urging of their children, JeVonne and Paul launched CHOICE Acton Academy in Utah in 2020. Education Entrepreneurs Face Regulatory Challenges Everywhere. Utah Is Trying To Help. (Forbes.com) Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.
