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PODCAST

LiberatED Podcast

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

education education for kids

All Episodes

37:18

Motherhood & Microschooling: Candace Lehenbauer on...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2023/01/13

After many years of stay-at-home motherhood and homeschooling her 6 children in Florida, Candace Lehenbauer wanted to do something different. She decided to create Tapestry Academy, a home-based microschool in Boca Raton. Candace also runs MicroschoolFlorida.com, a resource directory of microschools in South Florida. Case study of South Florida education entrepreneurship, produced for the VELA Education Fund Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at

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34:02

"The traditional system is antiquated." Longtime...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2023/01/10

Today's guest is Susan Safra, founder and director of Flex Learning Academy, a microschool in South Florida and one of the many innovative education options that are sprouting in that area. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

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33:21

Activating Microschools: Elyse Marcellino on what...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2023/01/06

Before joining Empower Mississippi and spearheading Embark, a microschool accelerator, Elyse Marcellino helped to launch a classical charter school in Georgia, worked as a classroom teacher for several years, and earned a graduate degree in education from Harvard University. Today, she is helping to activate microschools in her home state of Mississippi, while creating a blueprint for others to follow. "MISSISSIPPI MICROSCHOOLS ARE EXPANDING EDUCATION OPTIONS FOR FAMILIES" Sign up for Kerry's

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38:15

Texas Tenacity: How Cassidy Younghans is building a...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2023/01/03

Cassidy Younghans taught in conventional schools for 5 years before shifting her focus toward self-directed education. She interned at several prominent self-directed learning settings across the U.S. before becoming a cofounder of a full-time, self-directed learning center in Dallas. She learned a lot from that initial entrepreneurial experience, and in 2021 founded Wild Roots, a grassroots self-directed learning community in Dallas. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education

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33:11

Do you love your school? How Jenny Clark is helping...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/30

Jenny Clark is an Arizona mother of 5 who has been working vigorously over the past several years to expand education options for families, as well as help parents across the country gain a better understanding of the various options available to them. She is the creator of LoveYourSchool.org which is a fantastic platform that highlights various education options and also provides practical learning resources and tools for families. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education

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33:29

A Not-So-Micro School: How former public school...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/27

Candace Fish planned to open a microschool with just a few students, but when the former public school teacher launched her low-cost private school, Freedom Preparatory, this August, she had over 130 students signed up. Parents in Wichita, Kansas, as elsewhere, are looking for more education options, and a collaborative entrepreneurial community is creating them. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

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50:29

Choice & Access at a Montessori-inspired Microschool:...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/23

In August, Michael Parsons opened Vandalia Community School as a microschool in Charleston, West Virginia serving about 10 students with two teachers. Infused with Montessori principles and focused on ample outside time, Vandalia serves a diverse group of learners. With the implementation of West Virginia's new Hope Scholarship Program, a near-universal education savings account for K-12 students, Vandalia and models like it are now more accessible to many more families. Read more in my latest

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43:21

Self-Directed Education at Sligo Sudbury School:...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/20

Gayle Nagle and Maura Duignan founded the Sligo Sudbury School in Sligo, Ireland in 2018. The Sligo Sudbury School is one of dozens of Sudbury-style schools around the world that are modeled after the original Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Massachusetts that was founded in 1968. Sudbury schools value freedom and autonomy, non-coercive learning, personal responsibility, and democratic self-governance. In episode 39, I interviewed Sudbury Valley School cofounder Mimsy Sadofsky, and I wrote

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37:49

Learning Science Through Surfing & Skateboarding:...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/16

Homeschooling parents Toni and Uli Frallicciardi run Surf Skate Science in South Florida, offering weekly classes for approximately 250 homeschoolers and microschoolers in the greater Fort Lauderdale area each semester. They blend their passion for surfing and skating with their interest and background in science and engineering to create hands-on lessons for local students, as well as for young people across the U.S. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at

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42:16

From Tutoring Center to Microschool: Former public...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/13

Pam McEwen is a longtime educator and former certified teacher in the public schools in Wichita, Kansas who decided to launch a tutoring center in 2019. Amidst the education disruption of 2020, parents urged Pam to turn her tutoring center into a full-time, in-person microschool. So, she resigned from the school district to run the Izora Elaine Dean Education Center full-time. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

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29:31

How My Tech High Helps to Customize Education: Matt...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/09

Matt Bowman began his career as a public school teacher and quickly recognized the ways in which educational technology could act as both an accelerator for education entrepreneurs and as an access point for families who want a more customized, personalized, self-directed approach to education. He launched My Tech High in 2008 and now works directly with public school districts across the country, serving 20,000 students in 10 states. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education

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30:35

A Former Teacher Talks About Leaving the System: Jon...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/06

Like many educators today, including some that have been on this podcast, Jon England was a longtime public school teacher who left the classroom to pursue other education-related opportunities. He worked in the public schools for 14 years teaching 5th and 6th grades, and also worked as an elementary school administrator. Jon received his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Western Governors University. He also

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30:55

Retirement Can Wait: Donna Akers on launching a...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/12/02

Donna Akers had been a public school special education teacher for almost 30 years when she retired in 2020 and decided to launch Ivy Greene Academy, an affiliate of the highly-regarded and fast-growing Acton Academy microschool network. Not only is Ivy Greene the only Acton Academy in all of Mississippi, it is located in the rural town of Pontotoc in an area with almost no other private education options or schooling alternatives for families. In fact, one family drives 1 1/2 hours each way from

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50:27

"She's off her anxiety and ADHD meds": Stephanie...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/29

When Stephanie Harper decided to open Harper Learning Academy in Byram, Mississippi in August, her goal was to create a small, personalized educational setting in which her daughter would thrive. Conventional classroom environments weren’t a good match for Harper’s child. They also weren’t working well for the daughter of Harper’s colleague, Tekeeta Funchess. Harper and Funchess had been longtime teachers in the Jackson Public Schools before they left their jobs to provide educational

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03:03

A note of gratitude...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/25

Happy Thanksgiving! There is so much to be grateful for.

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35:23

A Missouri Microschool: Maria Casco on...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/22

Maria Casco is a former Montessori teacher who launched a microschool, CASCO Learning, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her journey toward education entrepreneurship began in 2020 when some local parents urged her to create a “pandemic pod." That pod has now evolved into an established learning center for homeschooling students of all ages, with a focus on Spanish language immersion, self-directed learning, and enrichment opportunities. Additionally, Maria also hosts international family travel expeditions

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33:49

How Prenda Pioneered Learning Pods: A conversation...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/18

Kelly Smith launched the first Prenda learning pod in his Arizona home in early 2018 with 7 children, including his son. Today, Prenda has reached over 10,000 learners in hundreds of pods, with the help more than 1,000 educator-guides in 5 states. On today's episode, Kelly talks about the growth of Prenda, the rising popularity of microschools and learning pods, and why aspiring education entrepreneurs should just jump in. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at

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21:52

How a "wiggly kindergartener" inspired one...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/15

I’m sure many parents will relate to the story of my guest today, Elizabeth McMeans. Elizabeth’s pathway to education entrepreneurship stemmed directly from her efforts to find a more nurturing, personalized educational environment for her son as he approached kindergarten age. He would have been one of the youngest in his kindergarten class, and that concerned Elizabeth as she saw the ways in which today’s kindergarten classrooms are more rigid and less play-based than they were even a few decades

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40:50

Acton Academy & Learner-Driven Education: Tobin...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/11

Acton Academy was one of the very first national microschool networks to get started back in 2010, before microschools, or small, mixed-age, personalized learning environments, became one of the fastest-growing and most popular educational trends of the 21st century. Founded in Austin, Texas by Laura and Jeff Sandefer, Acton Academy now has about 280 independently run but Acton-affiliated schools in more than 30 states and 25 countries. Its growth and impact is continuing and accelerating, as Acton

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37:51

A Microschool Trendsetter: Laurel Suarez on creating...

LiberatED Podcast ·

2022/11/08

During my recent visit to the flourishing hub of microschools and education entrepreneurship in South Florida, my first stop was at Compass Outreach and Education Center, a microschool run by our guest today, Laurel Suarez. Suarez was one of the first microschool/hybrid school founders in the greater Fort Lauderdale area, launching her microschool in 2019, and she has become a mentor and source of support and encouragement for many of the other microschool founders who have created or expanded their

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