Before she led a charter school, directed a political organization, and ran for lieutenant governor, Robyn Bagley was a mom who wanted her four children to have a great educational experience. Since those days, she has worked with thousands of families who want more choices for their children's education. In this episode, Robyn lays out the argumen…

Thales Academy is a fast-growing private school in North Carolina, and part of its success is the direct instruction learning model. It's not popular in education circles, but direct instruction has been proven by research to help young kids learn basic literacy and numeracy. In this episode, Thales Academic Director Tim Hall discusses direct instr…

Blair Mishleau has worked with innovative charter schools all over the U.S. He is recognized as a leader in blended learning, with a specialty of using technology in fundamentally human ways. In this episode, Blair reflects on his past teaching roles in "high expectations" charter schools. He warns against the damage that high expectations can do w…

Karen Lien is Director of the Education vertical at Y Combinator, a tech incubator in Mt View California that has become synonymous with Silicon Valley startups. Karen has a passion for education, classroom teaching experience, and a strong commitment to equity. In this episode, Karen shares how Silicon Valley technology companies are supporting ed…

Karen Arnold has followed a group of high school valedictorians throughout their lives, and in the process she has learned what type of person gets good grades in school, and how that school success translates to the real world. In this episode, Karen explains her research and explores the implications.…

As the founder of Ready to Blend, Heather Staker travels the country helping teachers use technology in their classrooms - not as a sideshow or gimmick, but as a central part of the learning process - an innovative approach called blended learning. In this episode, she explores how blended learning can give kids agency and empower them to drive the…

Jody Moore has helped thousands of moms through her life coaching and her popular podcast, Bold New Mom. In this episode, Jody applies the framework and concepts she uses with moms to the challenge of innovating in education. She discusses limitations in thinking that get in the way, and how we can help our kids unlock powerful learning.…

Andrew Collins has seen a lot of innovative school ideas, from his experience in the classroom to the AZ Charter Association to launching a tech-focused private school, to his current role as President and CEO of New Learning Ventures. In this episode, Andrew shares some of the most exciting concepts he is seeing emerge in Arizona, one of the most …

15-year-old Malaina Kapoor has tried many versions of school, from a traditional model to Montessori, to an experimental private school launched by Sal Khan, and she is currently designing her own high school experience. In this conversation, Malaina explores the idea of personalizing education, including how that works for very different learners.…

It's one thing to remember facts about a topic, but you don't really understand until you can synthesize all of your learning into an original creation. That's the main idea behind project-based learning, an educational approach that has become popular in recent years, and Angelica Cruz knows all about it. In fact, she built a school in downtown Ph…

Daniel Allen is currently Director of School Transformation in the Santa Ana Unified School District. He has been a principal and a teacher, as well as earning education degrees from top schools. In this episode, he dives into the cutting edge ideas and promising practices in education, measuring teachers and quantifying learning, and how all these…

Research has shown that kids are happy to learn under the right conditions. And game designers have perfected the art of engaging the human brain. In this episode, Earl Aguilera from the Arizona State University Center for Games and Impact explores ways that educators can apply lessons from video games and other technologies can make learning so en…

In this episode, Kelly Smith interviews Michelle Gardner about her son's educational journey. Like most parents these days, Michelle has looked at all the options. She has tried multiple schools, including public school, specialists, homeschooling, and online school. Along the way, Michelle has seen what works and what doesn't, and now she shares w…

Nearly a quarter of students in U.S. schools are immigrants, refugees, or their children. These students face unique challenges, and "business as usual" is often falling short. In this episode, Eva Masadiego Perez shares her own experience as a child of immigrants in Compton, CA, discusses how her education has opened doors, and explores the lesson…