LiberatED Podcast

Iman Alleyne is the founder of Kind Academy and creator of Launch Your Kind, an accelerator program for those interested in opening their own microschools! *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Kaity Broadbent is the Chief Empowerment Advocate at Prenda, the national network that has helped to launch hundreds of microschools serving thousands of learners since 2018. A homeschooling mom, Kaity is a thoughtful and insightful voice on the topic of personalized learning and alternative education models. Prior to Prenda, Kaity was a Speech-Language Pathologist in public schools, literacy coach, and curriculum designer. She's a certified peaceful parenting coach and mom to four Prenda kids ages 4 to 11. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Denise Lever was a firefighter turned homeschooling mom who launched a Prenda microschool in August 2020 in the rural town of Eager, Arizona in Apache County, which is one of the poorest counties in the US and one of only 3 counties in the entire country where neither English nor Spanish is the primary language spoke at home. In Apache County, that language is Navajo. Denise is also an administrator of 5 other independently operated Prenda microschools in her town of Eager. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

When Shari Robinson's oldest son wasn't thriving in public school, she pulled him out for homeschooling and then began homeschooling her other children as well. It was her personal experience of homeschooling her own children that inspired Shari over the years to create various STEM activities for local homeschoolers, including continuing to lead one of the highest-ranked robotics teams in the state. Those efforts evolved into Homeschool Resources Group and Pierian Spring Academy of Arts & Sciences, two low-cost education organizations located in Mechanicsville, Virginia, just outside of Richmond. Homeschool Resources Group serves as a membership-based learning center for homeschoolers, while Pierian Spring Academy is a small, recognized K-12 private school that uses a variety of individualized curriculum resources. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Eric Oglesbee is a school founder turned funder. He helped to launch River Montessori High School in South Bend, Indiana that is currently the only high school in the expanding Wildflower Montessori microschool network. After his experience as a founder, Eric joined The Drexel Fund in 2022. The Drexel Fund is a nonprofit philanthropic fund that provides seed and next-stage funding to high-quality private schools serving low-income students and those with learning differences. Apply to Drexel's Founders Program. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Imani Jackson is an experienced educator currently working as an elementary school teacher in a traditional private school who is launching Poinciana Montessori in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia this fall as part of the fast-growing Wildflower Montessori microschool network. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

My guest today is Eric Wearne, Associate Professor at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and Director of the National Hybrid Schools Project. He is also the author of the 2020 book, Defining Hybrid Homeschools in America: Little Platoons. Eric was previously on the podcast in the spring of 2022 ahead of his inaugural Hybrid Schools Conference. That event was such a huge success that he has expanded the conference each year to larger venues in Atlanta, and this year is also hosting the Western Hybrid & Microschools Forum in San Diego on March 2nd to showcase what's happening with hybrid and microschools on the West Coast. There's still time to register for both conferences! Western Hybrid & Microschools Forum - San Diego, March 2nd - Registration link 3rd Annual Hybrid Schools Conference - Atlanta, April 19-20th - Registration link *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Angel Sobrino is the founder and director of learning of The Hive Interactive, a homeschooling program and learning platform that embraces passion-driven, self-directed learning, empowering young people to chart their own unique pathways toward adulthood. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

I first met Marissa Hess back in 2022 at the inaugural National Hybrid Schools Conference in Atlanta. She is a former public school teacher and Montessori teacher who was homeschooled for most of her childhood and ultimately returned to the homeschooling model as the founder of Urban Cottage Educational Collaborative in Tampa, Florida that currently serves 84 mixed-age learners with 10 teachers. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Angie Wakeman and Rebecca Foley are the founders of Providence Hybrid Academy, a faith-based, Charlotte Mason-inspired hybrid homeschool program in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania, a little over an hour outside of Philadelphia. They launched their program as a small co-op in 2016 and today have 145 students in grades K-9, with 15 teachers, 7 aids and administrative staff, and a long waitlist. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Gisela Quinones is a homeschooling mother of three children who lives just outside of Chicago. She is the founder of LatinosHomeschooling.org, providing resources, support, classes, and community for Latino homeschooling families across the U.S. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Entrepreneurship is challenging, but cultivating a community of education entrepreneurs can make the experience more personally and professionally rewarding. In this episode, education entrepreneurs Shiren Rattigan of Colossal Academy and Toni Frallicciardi of Surf Skate Science discuss why they teamed up to create the Innovative Educators Network to collaborate with local founders—and why they recommend other education entrepreneurs do the same. Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Melissé Segesman is the homeschool director and a teacher at Montessori Peaks Academy, a tuition-free homeschool enrichment program run through the Jefferson County public school district in Colorado. Melissé has a Bachelor's degree in elementary education and a Montessori certificate, and she has been serving the Montessori Peaks Homeschool Community since 2014. Montessori Peaks Academy is a unique public program that caters to homeschooled children ages 5 to 13 who attend part-time during the week. It blends Montessori principles, a project-based approach, and ample time in nature, fostering a holistic, well-rounded educational experience. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Once a booming area buoyed by the automotive industry, Highland Park, a city just outside of Detroit, has faced decades of blight. In 2011, the city repossessed more than two-thirds of Highland Park's residential streetlights due to outstanding electric bills. The streetlights were removed, literally leaving residents in the dark. It was around this time that a visionary woman known to everyone as Mama Shu, decided to embrace a mission of "blight to beauty" for her Highland Park neighborhood known as Avalon Village. She began buying up crumbling properties on her rundown street, having solar-powered lighting installed, renovating buildings or tearing them down and replacing them with new shipping containers to house small shops run by local entrepreneurs. She was named one of CNN's Heroes. One of Avalon Village's great accomplishments is The Homework House, a renovated single family home that now serves as a meeting space for local youth. There, young people can enjoy a warm meal, get help with homework, and gain important life skills. Under the guidance of our guest today, education director Boniswa Brock, who was a public school teacher and administrator for 35 years, The Homework House also serves as a warm and welcoming hub for local homeschooled students who enjoy daily access to the space for classes and enrichment opportunities. Boniswa is currently preparing to launch a STEM-focused, child-centered preschool, called Every Child Is A Genius, at The Homework House, but has encountered regulatory snares that have delayed the preschool's opening. We talk about that frustration and more on today's episode. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

The Sudbury Valley School is a self-directed, democratic school located in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1968 and has inspired the growth of dozens of Sudbury-model schools around the world over the past half-century. The Sudbury model is based on the belief that children learn best when they have the freedom to explore their interests and take responsibility for their own education. Today's podcast guest is a Sudbury Valley School alumna who now sends her children there and who recently became a staff member. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

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 is the founder of Acton Academy Fort Lauderdale who was previously on the podcast in fall 2022 (episode #46) to talk about the launch of his microschool. I'm delighted to have Tobin back on the podcast today to kick off 2024 with a conversation about artificial intelligence, technology, techno-optimism, and the future of learning. In addition to leading his microschool, Tobin is also the founder of vPAL Labs, working at the forefront of developing AI companions that combine the roles of a personal tutor, life coach, and mentor. More School Districts Ban ChatGPT. Here's Why That's A Bad Idea Why Youth Social Media Bans Are A Bad Idea *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

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.

Originally from Venezuela, Gaby Narvaez and Andrea Hantman met in the U.S. and launched P.L.A.Y. School Academy (Passion Learning Approach Year-Round), a K-12 microschool in South Florida. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Tom Bogle is a former public high school teacher turned microschool guide and now cofounder of Microschool Solutions, an organization that helps to activate new microschools across the US and support new founders. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

My guest today is Becky McNichols, founder of Rooted Life Academy, a home-based microschool/homeschool enrichment program in the Kansas City area. Becky taught in public schools for 15 years, including most recently in a Title I public school that served predominantly low-income and migrant students. She grew increasingly drained by her public school teaching job and resigned in the spring of 2022 to launch Rooted Life. Becky opened her pod that fall with eight students ranging in age from kindergarteners to fourth graders. Today, her pod is at capacity with about a dozen students and a waiting list. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Nathan Fellman was a public middle school teacher and administrator in New Hampshire for nearly 20 years before leaving his job to launch a middle school microschool program in fall 2022. Nate and two of his colleagues from the public school system opened The Harkness House in Nashua, New Hampshire that emphasizes personalized learning for 6th thru 9th graders. Harkness House also offers hybrid homeschool programs for local young people ages 10 to 18 who want to access Harkness House classes. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Sharon Masinelli is the founder and head of school at St. John the Baptist Hybrid School in Kennesaw, Georgia, outside of Atlanta. Students attend the drop-off program two to three days a week, learning from an assortment of 30 educators, while homeschooling on the remaining days. Sharon launched her hybrid school in 2019 with 47 students. Today, her program has 120 students in kindergarten through 12 grade. In the summer of 2021, Sharon's program was threatened to be shut down by the county fire marshal. After the Institute for Justice sent a letter citing Georgia's new Learning Pod Protection Act, the fire marshal backed down and Sharon's program was able to operate. All of this leads us to grapple with the question of regulation, particularly for unconventional learning models like hybrid schools. Do we really need regulation, even if it seems to help founders? What are the benefits and drawbacks of such policies? *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Jack Johnson Pannell is the Head of School and Founder of Trinity Arch Preparatory School for Boys in Phoenix, Arizona, a microschool that launched this fall to serve boys ages 7 to 14. Prior to launching this new school, Jack was the founder of an all-boys public charter school in Baltimore, Maryland called Baltimore Collegiate. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Happy Thanksgiving! A special note of gratitude to all the entrepreneurs out there. You are the true engines of human progress. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

It is such an honor to have Jeff Sandefer on the podcast today to talk about his experience as the co-founder, along with his wife Laura, of the fast-growing microschool network, Acton Academy. Jeff and Laura launched the first Acton Academy in Austin, Texas in 2009. Today, there are over 300 Acton Academies worldwide, serving thousands of learners. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

More than a decade ago, Dani Foltz-Smith sent her two girls to a new school that had recently opened in Austin, Texas. It was the flagship Acton Academy, launched in 2009 by Jeff and Laura Sandefer to prioritize learner-driven education and enable each child to pursue his or her own "hero's journey." Dani's family adored their Acton experience so much that when they needed to move back to Los Angeles, Dani became the 3rd ever Acton Academy campus, after Austin and Guatemala, opening Acton Academy Venice Beach in 2013. Today, there are more than 300 Acton Academy microschools serving thousands of learners. Read more about Dani's school and the greater ecosystem of decentralized education options in the Los Angeles area: In Los Angeles, A Tiny School Lets Young People Direct Their Own Education (The 74) *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Refine KC is a full-time, faith-based microschool in the Kansas City, Missouri area that launched in August 2022 with 15 K-12 students. Today, it is at capacity with 40 students, 6 teachers, and a waiting list. Three of Refine KC's founders are with us on today's podcast to talk about why their school is so popular. "Church-Based Microschools Are 'Sprouting Everywhere'" (The Lion) *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Mercedes Grant and Isis Spann are two founders who launched their microschools this fall in Virginia and South Carolina, respectively. They share their startup experiences, surprises, and challenges, and offer advice to new education entrepreneurs. Mercedes runs Path of Life Learning in Yorktown, VA, and Isis runs A Home for School in Moncks Corner, SC. Both founders participated in the spring 2023 cohort of the KaiPod Catalyst program. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

As education across the US transforms from a centralized, top-down system to a diverse, decentralized marketplace responsive to the needs and preferences of learners and families, it can create some challenges for the entrepreneurial parents and teachers who are creating these new, bottom-up education solutions. Joining me on the podcast today is Mike Donnelly, an experienced attorney and vice president at the Yes Every Kid Foundation who is working to support today's education entrepreneurs and champion their innovative learning models. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

I recently spent time in the greater Kansas City area visiting microschools and learning pods, and talking to founders, and was struck by what I found. All seven of the learning environments I visited were founded within the past three years and all of the founders are former public school teachers who quit and created these alternative programs. They also all expressed greater levels of personal and professional fulfillment. One of those founders is our guest today, Tara Cassidy. Tara was a public school teacher for 17 years, but grew increasingly frustrated with the institutional bureaucracy and was also not happy with her children's experiences in the local public schools. In August 2022, she launched Crossroad Trails Education Center, a low-cost microschool with eight students in a commercial storefront location that previously housed a daycare center. By November, she had 20 students. To accommodate local demand for her program, Cassidy opened up walls and expanded into an adjacent space. She is now at capacity with over 30 mixed-age learners in kindergarten through high school, despite no marketing or outreach. Forbes: Former Public School Teachers Find Happiness in Entrepreneurship *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Alexi Burgess is the co-founder of Alcove Learning, a self-directed learning center for teens and tweens in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Alcove opened in January 2020 as part of the Liberated Learners network of self-directed learning centers across the U.S. In Los Angeles, A Tiny School Lets Young People Direct Their Own Education (The74) *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

A common question about unconventional educational models, and especially about self-directed ones that put young people in charge of their own education, is how do kids turn out? To help answer that question I've invited Evan Hughes, who attended the renowned Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, MA for his childhood and adolescence, and now sends his son there as well. Sudbury Valley was founded in 1968 and has since inspired the creation of dozens of Sudbury-model schools around the world. It prioritizes non-coercive, self-directed education within a democratically run community where adults and children have equal say in school operations, rule-making and enforcement, hiring and firing decisions, and so on. There are no adult-imposed classes, no grades, no curriculum or top-down evaluative measures. So how exactly does a person learn in this environment? *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Frank Farro is the cofounder, along with his wife Natalie, of Acton Academy North Broward, in Coral Springs, Florida, which they launched in 2020. Acton Academy is of course the popular, fast-growing global network of learner-driven microschools, now encompassing more than 300 independently owned and operated Acton-affiliated schools. I've had the privilege of highlighting several affiliated Acton Academies on this podcast and profiling them in my Forbes column, and it's such a pleasure to have Frank on today's show to talk about his experience as an Acton-affiliate founder. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Our guest today is Judy Dwyre, who in the fall of 2019 launched Allium Montessori, a microschool for children ages 6 to 12 that is part of the national Wildflower Montessori microschool network. The first Wildflower microschool opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2014. Today, there are more than 60 of these microschools across the US and Puerto Rico. Most of them are private, but Wildflower public charter microschools now also operate in New York City, Minneapolis, and Washington, DC. (I visited and interviewed the founders of the Wildflower charter school in the South Bronx back in episode 94.) And I've also visited Judy's Allium Montessori here in Cambridge, which is located just around the corner from me in Harvard Square. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

What is the LiberatED Podcast and who should listen? Check out this quick trailer to learn more!

Today's guest is Lizette Valles, a longtime teacher and school librarian who founded Ellemercito Academy in 2021 as a microschool focused on experiential learning and trauma-informed approaches to education. She is also the founder of Compass Educators, an educational services center that began as a holistic tutoring program but expanded to offer more services driven by parent demand, including support for navigating school choice policies, and support for "road schooling" and "worldschooling" families. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Bob Luddy is a successful entrepreneur who founded CaptiveAire Systems, the nation's leading manufacturer of commercial kitchen ventilation systems, and later became an education entrepreneur, founding Thales Academy in 2007. Thales Academy is a classically-focused network of low-cost, PreK-12 private schools that has seen extraordinary growth from starting as a microschool with 30 students in a temporary spot in the back of Luddy's corporate office to now serving over 6,100 students across 13 locations in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Thales was recently named a semi-finalist for the prestigious Yass Prize for education innovation. Entrepreneurial Life: The Path from Startup to Market Leader, by Robert Luddy *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Rachel Goff taught in the New York City public schools for 16 years. She was growing increasingly disillusioned by what she was seeing unfold in the conventional classroom and finally decided to leave and launch Creative Space Learning Center in 2021, after choosing homeschooling for her own children. Creative Space is a learning center for PreK- 8th grade homeschooled children in Long Beach, New York, on the south shore of Long Island, that follows a child-led learning philosophy. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Felicia Rattray decided to launch Permission To Succeed Academy in the summer of 2020 after schools shut down due to the pandemic and the shift to remote schooling gave her an up-close look at her nephew's classroom. A longtime public school teacher, Felicia realized how far behind he was academically and created her microschool to help students like her nephew with a more personalized, mastery-based, culturally relevant curriculum. The first year of opening she had 6 students. Now, she has 60 in-person learners and 7 teachers. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Kenneth Mims is the founder of Science Prep Academy in Phoenix, a private STEM microschool for neurodivergent students in grades 6th-12th. Ken founded Science Prep in 2017 after working for several years with autistic students in Arizona. Last fall, Science Prep was awarded the $1 million "Ducey Prize" funded by Janine Yass, founder of The Yass Prize, to enable the school to open at least five more schools in the Phoenix area and increase capacity to 800 students in new schools throughout the country. Ken is also the founder of the Neurodiversity Education Research Center which helps to support neurodivergent students as they prepare to enter the workforce in STEM-related fields. Science Prep Academy is a program of this research center. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Holler Creek School of Appalachian Ecology is a small, private K-5 school located in Carroll County, Virginia, just below the Blue Ridge Parkway. Its two founders are Aaron Sebens and Melanie Schrage, both experienced educators who wanted to create a school that embraces what they call "radical rural education." They launched Holler Creek in the fall of 2021. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.

Pastor Joshua Robertson is the Senior Pastor of The Rock Church of Harrisburg, PA and CEO and founder of Black Pastors United for Education. Through his role, he has spearheaded a variety of community initiatives aimed at education and youth empowerment, including establishing church-based learning centers for local young people who are enrolled in one of Pennsylvania's virtual charter schools. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.