Disrupt Education Podcast

What if the biggest disruption in education isn't AI... but how we design the school day? In this follow up episode, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl unpack one of the most talked about conversations in Disrupt Education Podcast history with Jason Walke and his groundbreaking Mission Mondays model. From students who actually look forward to Mondays to teachers finding more instructional time, st...

What if school felt less like a schedule and more like a mission? Jason Walke returns to the Disrupt Education Podcast to unpack the first full year of Mission Mondays at Oldenburg Academy. Instead of treating field trips, guest speakers, service, internships, and life skills as interruptions, Jason helped move them into a focused weekly experience built around purpose, relationships, and real wor...

What if the biggest problem in education isn't students, teachers, or even curriculum? What if the system was intentionally designed to separate opportunity? In this follow-up episode, Peter and Alli unpack their thought-provoking conversation with Superintendent Chris Nesmith and explore some of the most disruptive ideas discussed on the podcast this year. From the false choice between colleg...

What if the biggest problem in education isn't students but the system we've built around them? In this thought provoking episode, superintendent and education innovator Chris NeSmith challenges the outdated "college vs. career" mindset that continues to limit student opportunities. Chris shares lessons from Germany's apprenticeship system, explains why career pathways should...

What are the truths students desperately need to hear before they graduate high school? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl have one of their most honest and challenging conversations yet about the things traditional education systems often avoid saying out loud. From work-life balance myths and GPA obsession to networking, internships, social capital,...

What happens when education becomes more focused on compliance than conversation? In this follow-up episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl unpack the powerful conversation they had with Dr. Mark Covelle and dive even deeper into what is really happening inside schools right now. From “donkeys in bathtubs” to the future of Career and Technical Education, this episo...

What happens when Career and Technical Education stops fighting for respect and starts facing a much bigger problem: capacity? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl welcome back Dr. Mark Covelle, Administrative Director of Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, for a bold conversation about the future of CTE, workforce development, and what schools are sti...

What do thunderstorms and artificial intelligence have in common? Uncertainty, unpredictability, and the reality that you can’t ignore what’s already here. In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl reflect on their conversation with futurist Rachael Mann M.Ed and unpack what AI is really doing to education right now. From the overwhelming pace of change to th...

What happens when the world changes faster than education can keep up? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with futurist, author, and EdFuture founder Rachael Mann M.Ed to explore one of the most urgent questions in education today. From AI moving at exponential speed to the growing gap between classrooms and real-world innovation, this convers...

What actually makes a school “good”? It is a phrase we hear all the time, from real estate agents to school rankings, but when you stop and ask what it really means, the answers start to fall apart. In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl bring together a powerhouse group of voices to unpack one of the most misunderstood ideas in education today. From test...

Why do so many students reach senior year and still say, “I don’t know”? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Jason Van Nus and Dani Natter to unpack a hard truth: the problem isn’t student motivation—it’s system design. From the critical role of school counselors to the power of aligning work-based learning, advising, and real-world opport...

What if students are leaving school with the same skills—but completely different futures? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Kristy Volesky from Volesky Consulting and Brian Hansen from YouScience to unpack the real gap in education today: access, not ability. This conversation dives deep into work-based learning, social capital, and why...

What are the 3 things you actually remember learning in school? Not the notes, not the tests, not the lectures. In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl break down one of the most powerful takeaways from their conversation with Dr. Sandra Adams and turn it into a challenge every educator needs to hear. The truth is simple and uncomfortable: most of what we “...

What if the best learning in school is the part that never gets graded? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Dr. Sandra Adams to unpack one of the biggest shifts happening in education right now: why curiosity, literacy, and student engagement matter more than compliance, lecture, and traditional grading. Dr. Adams shares the thinking behin...

What happens when College Board steps into CTE in a serious way? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl break down why College Board’s move with Teamship and Career Kickstart could become a major turning point in education. This conversation digs into the shift from traditional school metrics like GPA, AP scores, and test performance toward what really mat...

College Board is making a major move into career-connected learning, and most educators have no idea how big this could become. In this episode of Disrupt Education, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Alyssa Chudnofsky of College Board and Dan Gonzalez of Teamship to unpack why the old divide between college prep, career prep, and high school learning is breaking down fast. They explore...

If your idea of “partnerships” is guest speakers and career fairs… you’re playing small. In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl unpack the uncomfortable truth: partnerships don’t scale by hope — they scale by design. And if districts want real work-based learning, internships, and community-connected pathways, they can’t keep treating partnerships like a P...

What happens to a school system when boundary spanning doesn’t exist? In Part 2 of this Disrupt Education Podcast conversation, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl go deeper with Chris Brida (CTE Director, Portland Public Schools) to unpack what’s at risk when education stays siloed—by departments, by bell schedules, by “that’s not my lane.” Chris shares what his dissertation research is revealing abou...

Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Chris Brida, CTE Director in Portland Public Schools, to unpack a concept most education leaders do the work of… but rarely have language for: boundary spanning. Chris breaks down how CTE leaders sit between K–12, higher ed, workforce, nonprofit, and government systems, and why “partnerships” can’t just be guest speakers and career fairs if we’re seriou...

What happens after you hit stop on a conversation that challenges everything you thought you knew about grades, college, and internships? In this recap episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl unpack their recent conversation with Brandon Busteed and go even deeper into what it all means. Peter shares the full circle moment of first hearing Brandon speak a decade ag...

What if the “A” isn’t proof of learning anymore? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Brandon Busteed to challenge one of education’s biggest sacred cows: grades. Brandon drops a stat that should stop every educator and parent in their tracks: 60% of grades at Harvard are A’s (up from about 25% two decades ago). So… what does an A even mean...

A spicy LinkedIn post about field trips lit up the internet—and this episode is the why behind the fire. Here is the post that started it all - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/peterhostrawser_disrupteducation-cte-careerreadiness-activity-7382071108952498176-O__x?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAm03zEBGi3ZOO_BO8D4Sr3zhuz2I4cEmLI In this conversation, Peter...

What happens when you ask 500+ CTE leaders one simple question: “How are you disrupting education in 2026?” At ACTE CareerTech VISION in Nashville, Alli Dahl and Peter Hostrawser put that question on the screen, dropped a QR code, and let the field speak. This episode is the result — real responses from real leaders who are done with “CTE as a second choice” and ready to treat schools like talent...

Episode 4 is the pause-and-process moment after a truly disruptive series. Peter and Alli step back to unpack the emotional, mental, and professional reactions sparked by the pega6 conversation. This episode isn’t about selling a model — it’s about acknowledging the discomfort that comes when a system you trusted, went through, and maybe even thrived in… starts to crack. They explore why failure i...

In Episode 3, Peter and Alli stop talking about what’s broken and start building the alternative in real time — the pega6 model. Jeremy Smith takes everyone into the “why now” moment: he’s been sitting on this idea for 15 years, watching college get more expensive and less useful, until the market finally hit a tipping point. Parents, students, and employers aren’t just annoyed anymore… they’re do...