Charter School Superstars

This week, Ryan talks to recording artist and charter school student Mercedes Ferreira-Dias. Mercedes is a star student at the Mater Academy Lakes charter school in Miami Lakes, Florida, but she became something of a TV star recently when she made it through the blind auditions on season 15 of NBC's "The Voice" and sang for Blake Shelton's team on the program. We talk to Mercedes about her experie...

This week, Ryan chats with acclaimed children's book author Timmy Bauer. In addition to being the creative mind behind the "Billy the Dragon" adventure story, Timmy is also a performer and the host of the Books for Kids Podcast. Timmy travels the country visiting schools (including many charter schools) to encourage students to unlock their creative potential. Timmy talks to Ryan about his work, w...

This week, Ryan sits down with noted security expert William Tagle of Tagle and Associates to talk about how to keep our charter schools safe. Mr. Tagle was an officer with the Miami-Dade County Public Schools police for 25 years and today provides security consulting services for public and private schools. In the year since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, school safety has...

This week, Ryan sits down with education reformer Curtis Valentine. Curtis is the Deputy Director, Reinventing America’s Schools at the Progressive Policy Institute and is also an at-large board member for the Prince George’s County Public School District. Last month, Curtis was a panelist at the "Is School Choice the Black Choice" Atlanta town hall hosted by Roland Martin and sponsored by The 74....

This week, Ryan sits down with NAPCS Senior Director of Government Relations Ron Rice, Jr.. Ron talks about his work at the National Alliance and what it means to advocate for pro-charter policy at the federal level with a Congress that seems more polarized than ever. Ron and Ryan also discuss how charter education policy affected the 2018 mid-term elections and how it is poised to influence the 2...

This week, Ryan sits down with principal Wendy Shirey of Pinecrest Academy Horizon charter school in Henderson, Nevada. Back in December, Principal Shirey won the prestigious Milken Educator Award, an honor frequently referred to as the "Oscars of Teaching." Ryan talks to Wendy about what the award means to her, how she uses data and stakeholder engagement to effect school turnarounds, her strateg...

This week, Ryan sits down with charter school teacher Ralph Krauss (Pinecrest Academy of Nevada) and charter school support administrator Michael Smythers. This year, Ralph and Michael built a competitive e-sports league featuring charter schools from Florida and Nevada. Students are competing as teams and representing their schools in the league featuring the "Rocket League" video game, and the p...

This week, we are joined by four very special guests, high school seniors Santiago, Nathaniel, Pedro, and Juliette at the Doral Academy Charter High School. These four excellent students talk about their experience attending their Blue Ribbon-winning charter school and how their charter school education has helped them receive admission at prestigious colleges around the country. Host: Ryan Kairal...

This week, Charter School Superstars is recording on-location at the Blue Ribbon-winning Doral Academy Charter High School in Doral, Florida to talk to high-performing teachers Michael Hunter and Domingo Montenegro. Mr. Hunter and Mr. Montenegro are the science and English department chairs respectively at Doral Academy and have championed an AP program that has achieved incredible results while e...

To celebrate School Choice Week, Ryan sits down with noted education reformer, lawyer, author, and policymaker Kevin Chavous. Kevin talks about what charter school parents can do to help advocate for their schools and the future of the charter school movement (and virtual charter schools in particular). Find out more about Kevin's incredible work in the ed reform space, and his excellent books, by...

This week, Ryan sits down with education consultant and policy expert Liza McFadden of Liza & Partners. A big policy focus for Liza is adult education, and particularly the role that charter schools can play in expanding adult education opportunities. She tells us about some successful adult education charter programs in the U.S. and also discusses what policymakers and advocates need to do to all...

This week, Ryan sits down with teacher and sports radio personality Larry Milian. Larry is the director of the SLAM Radio program at the SLAM Academy charter high school in Miami, Florida. SLAM Radio is a SiriusXM satellite station and is the first such radio station run by high school students. Larry talks to Ryan about this groundbreaking initiative and provides some insight on what motivates st...

This week, Ryan sits down with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Kamalani Academy Charter School in Wahiawa, Hawai'i. Operating charter schools in our 50th state presents unique challenges and opportunities, and our guests have some great insights to share. They also talk about some of Kamalani's innovative programs, including its focus on Hawaiian culture across the curriculum, its arts integration...

This week, we interview a very special guest: 2019 Miss America Nia Imani Franklin. In addition to her pageant success, Nia is also an accomplished teacher and a devoted education advocate. Nia talks to Ryan about the role that arts education has played in her life, and how she has devoted herself to advancing this important cause through her work with organizations like ArtistCorps and the Succes...

This week, Ryan chats with Pamela Blizzard, the Founder and Managing Director of the Research Triangle High School in North Carolina. RTHS is an acclaimed public charter school that places a heavy emphasis on personalized learning, project-based learning, and technology. It does not look like, or operate like, a typical high school--and that contributes to its success. Pamela talks about what make...

Our guest this week is Joy Prescott. Ms. Prescott teaches fourth grade math at the Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School in Glades County, Florida. In May of this year, Joy was named the 2019 Florida Teacher of the Year, the first charter school teacher to receive this award. On the show, Joy talks to Ryan about her unique charter school, which is located on a Seminole Reservation and specializes in usi...

Our guest this week is Juan Infante. Juan is a 2005 graduate of Doral Academy Charter High School and the charter-founded Doral College. Today, Juan is a senior at Harvard University and serves on the Doral College Board of Trustees. In the interview, Juan reflects on his education journey and the role that his school and community played to help him achieve success in and out of the classroom. Ho...

Our guest this week is Miranda Murillo. Miranda is a charter school alum who is currently a senior at New York University. Miranda talks to Ryan about how her experience at Doral Academy Charter High School and the charter-founded Doral College helped prepare her for success at one of America's elite universities. Upon graduation, Miranda will be starting a position at Goldman Sachs. Miranda's sto...

Our guest this week is Alexandra Prieto, principal of the Somerset Miramar charter school in Broward County, Florida. This month, Somerset Miramar will be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2018. Ms. Prieto shares her insight on the strategies she employs at her school that have led to student success. Investing in faculty retention and parent invol...

Our guest this week is Florida Charter School Alliance Executive Director Lynn Norman-Teck. Lynn talks about her career in charter school advocacy. She also offers some impressive insight on the evolution of the charter school movement in her home state of Florida and gives her outlook on the future of education reform. Host: Ryan Kairalla (@ryankair)

Welcome to Charter School Superstars! Each week, we will bring you interviews with the incredible school leaders, teachers, entrepreneurs, students, and advocates that have made the charter school movement a powerful force for change. On our first episode, host Ryan Kairalla sits down with Judy Marty (CAO, Mater Academy, Inc.) and Carrie Montano (Principal, Pinecrest Glades Academy) at the Florida...