LiberatED Podcast

Today's guest is Sarah Pevehouse, founder of Apogee Dripping Springs Micro High School in Dripping Springs, Texas, west of Austin, which she launched in 2024. With a background in Waldorf and alternative education, Sarah has served as a teacher, administrator, and enrollment director, shaping real-world learning experiences for students. She has taught in overseas military schools, led summer camp...

Today's guest is Elan Page, the founder of Homeschool Our Way based in Dallas, Texas. She created Homeschool Our Way in 2023 to help other families of color avoid the overwhelm she had experienced in starting something new. Homeschool Our Way offers a weekly podcast , an online course called the Homeschool Launch Blueprint, homeschool coaching services, and other resources to empower families of c...

Today's guest is Ali Kaufman, a longtime education entrepreneur who began offering tutoring services more than two decades ago and has since built a thriving hybrid homeschool program, Space of Mind , in Delray Beach, Florida that today serves dozens of K-12 students with both full-time and part-time enrollment options. ***  Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly e-newsletter on education entrepreneursh...

Today's guest is George Philhower, Superintendent of the Eastern Hancock Public Schools in rural Charlottesville, Indiana, who is launching and leading the new Indiana Microschool Collaborative, a non-profit network designed to bring the microschooling model into the public education system. Read more about public microschooling in Kerry's latest Forbes.com article . ***  Sign up for Kerry's free,...

Nefertiti Harris is a former public school teacher, mom of five, and founder of Empowered Prep Academy , a microschool located in Jackson, Mississippi for students in grades 3-12 who desire a flexible and more individualized learning environment. As a certified special education teacher, Nefertiti focuses specifically on helping dyslexic students and those with similar learning needs. If you are l...

Today's guest is Jody Underwood, the founder and president of EdOpt , a platform offering information, support, and connections to New Hampshire families who want to explore their education options. Jody has spent most of her professional life involved in education, including getting a Ph. D. in science and technology education to complement her Master's in computer science. She worked for many ye...

My guest today is Connor Boyack, founder of the Libertas Network, prolific author, creator of the wildly popular Tuttle Twins book series, and now the new president of Praxis , the decade-old apprenticeship preparation and placement program that the Libertas Network recently acquired.   *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly e-newsletter on education entrepreneurship and innovation at edentrepreneur...

Today's guest is Kathleen deLaski, author of the thought-provoking new book: Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining A Future Where Degrees Won't Matter . Kathleen spent 20 years as a journalist, including time as an ABC News White House correspondent. In the second half of her career, she has focused on education reform, cofounding or founding several national nonprofits, notably the Education Desig...

Today's guest is Crystal Goins, a mom of 5 and founder of Heartwise Scholars Microschool in Chesapeake, Virginia. A public school teacher for over 13 years, Crystal joined the Kaipod Catalyst microschool accelerator program to help get her microschool off the ground, and opened her microschool last August. She shares insights and information for parents and teachers at her website theresilientteac...

My guest today is Tomis Parker, cofounder of the Agile Learning Centers (ALC) network that launched more than a decade ago. Since 2014, Tomis has led business operations at ALC Mosaic in Charlotte, North Carolina, and he recently founded a new project called Prism , which is a web application designed to make it easier to document and communicate the value of emergent, self-directed learning in mi...

Today's guests are Laura Greene and Angela Ruth, cofounders of Harmony Homeschool Academy , a secular homeschool hybrid solution for middle and high school students in the greater Raleigh-Durham-Cary, North Carolina area.  Laura is a licensed psychologist with a background in school psychology. She is also a homeschool parent. Angela is also a homeschooling parent who spent her early career workin...

Natalie Mack is a homeschooling mom of 5 children who has been serving military homeschooling families for more than two decades. Her husband is a US Navy chaplain who recently retired after 34 years of service. Through her business, Natalie Mack LLC, she offers consultations to homeschoolers. She is also the founder of the nonprofit Military Homeschoolers Association (MHA), which is an advocacy a...

David Jackson is an entrepreneur and longtime executive director and president and CEO of Fairmont Schools , a large, secular private school located in Orange County, California serving students in preschool through 12th grade. Fairmont was founded in 1953 by Kenneth Holt, David's stepfather, and then David joined the school in a leadership role in 1979 where he remained at the helm of the institu...

Today's guest is Michael Bonifacio, the founder of Acton Academy Estero in Fort Myers, Florida. Part of the global Acton Academy network of learner-driven schools, Acton Academy Estero operates on a 32-acre working farm. It opened in January 2024 with 9 learners, and today has over 40—with more than 60 students projected for this fall.   *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter...

In the final episode of our 4-part series on Homeschooling To College, Kym Kent and I are joined by our two homeschooled high school seniors as they reflect on their homeschooling experience, what the college admissions process has been like, and how they are narrowing down their many college acceptances to choose the one that is right for them by the May 1st college decision deadline. Check out H...

Today's guest is Jania Otey, a homeschooling mom and founder of Kids and Culture Camp , an educational enrichment program for homeschoolers and conventionally-schooled children located in Washington, DC.   *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends and entrepreneurial stories at fee.org/liberated .

Today's guest is Terry Travers, the founder and director of Astrolabe Academy , a unique high school experience and teen community that supports self-directed learners on their individual learning journeys. Terry has a background in communication design, ocean science, and sustainable farming. Passionate about alternative education, she began homeschooling her children in 2008 and transitioned to...

Today's guest is Colleen Hroncich, a policy analyst with the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom . She maintains the Private Schooling Status Tracker , which tracks private school openings and permanent closures along with tuition and demographic information when available. Each week in the Friday Feature blog series, Colleen shares interesting stories in the education space, from inno...

In part 3 of our 4-part series on Homeschooling To College, Kym Kent and I talk to Rebecca Stuart-Orlowski, an independent college admissions counselor based in Southern California who helps students and families navigate the college admissions process. A former public school teacher, Rebecca homeschooled for 25 years, sending her own three children off to college. A member of multiple professiona...

Welcome to the 300th episode of the LiberatED Podcast ! That's hundreds of conversations, stories, and insights all centered around one core mission: reimagining education and helping families, educators, and innovators discover what's possible beyond the conventional classroom. Check out Kerry's forthcoming book: Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Sch...

Today's guest is Ben Draper, Executive Director of the Macomber Center , a self-directed education center for homeschoolers in Massachusetts. Ben is a graduate of the Sudbury Valley School , where he spent most of his childhood and adolescence before attending college at Tufts University and later earning a studio art degree from the Boston Museum School. Ben is part of the founding team of a new...

Today's guest is Dominque Burgess, a former public school teacher, visionary education entrepreneur, and a national leader in the microschool movement. As the founder of Burbrella Learning Academy Inc. in Burlington, North Carolina she has successfully launched multiple innovative microschools, including transforming an old Foot Locker in a mall into a thriving, student-centered learning hub. ***...

Today's guest is Makenzie Oliver, host of the popular podcast Teacher, Let Your Light Shine! and its associated Facebook community. An award-winning public school teacher, Makenzie decided to leave the conventional classroom to launch her own microschool, Lighthouse Learning Microschool and Homeschool Hybrid, in 2020 in Longwood, Florida. She now helps other teachers to let their light shine throu...

In this second episode in our series, Homeschooling To College, Kym Kent and I talk about some of the common myths around college admissions and affordability, as well as how to navigate the Common App as a homeschooling family.  "A trend colleges might not want applicants to notice: It's becoming easier to get in" ( The Hechinger Report , Nov. 2024) "The secret that colleges should stop keeping"...

Today's guest is Lauri Muse, a mom of of 7 children who has been actively homeschooling for 27 years. She recently launched World of Wonder Hybrid Microschool and Homeschool Enrichment Program in Union, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, Ohio. Her weekly homeschool enrichment program now serves over 140 kids, while the 3-day-a-week microschool she opened last fall currently has 15 students—and counting! *...