LiberatED Podcast

Today's guests are Katie Kilgore and Michael Frost who are the cofounders, along with a third family, of Three Cords Academy , a student-focused, Biblically-centered microschool currently serving 2nd-6th grades which they launched in Fall 2024 in Carrollton, Georgia. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .    

Today's guest is MacKenzie Price, cofounder of 2 Hour Learning and Alpha School , a K-12 private school in Austin, Texas which she launched in 2014. MacKenzie is currently working to scale the Alpha School model nationwide, with additional schools currently operating or opening soon in several states. A graduate of Stanford University, MacKenzie hosts the Future of Education podcast, which focuses...

In this episode, Kerry chats with Kym Kent, a veteran homeschooling mom of 6 and founder of a Maryland-based homeschooling program who has already graduated 4 of her children and is currently going through the college admissions process with her son Samuel. Kerry's daughter Molly is a lifelong homeschooler who is also going through the college admissions process this year. Kerry and Kym talk about...

Today's guest is Maria Stalsberg, founder of Our Village School , a creative learning environment for homeschooled kids ages 6 and over in Lakeville, Minnesota. Maria holds a Master's degree in Teaching and a Bachelor's in Business Administration. She began her career in Corporate America before transitioning to becoming a classroom teacher in the traditional education system, but ultimately stepp...

I am so excited to share the news with you that my new book, Joyful Learning: How To Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling , is now available for preorder! Published by the big New York City publisher Hachette, under its PublicAffairs imprint, Joyful Learning is brimming with information and inspiration for parents and teachers who are seeking or building innovative sc...

Today's guest is Robert Barnett, a former teacher in both public and private schools, and the cofounder and Chief Product Officer at the  Modern Classrooms Project , a nonprofit teaching and professional development resource which he helped to launch in 2018.   *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .

Our guest today is Jennie Jones, a former professional ballerina, turned homeschooling mom of four, turned education entrepreneur. In September 2024, Jennie launched The Treehouse Agile Learning Community as a home-based microschool in St. George, Utah that uses agile learning tools to foster intentional community, natural learning, and independence in students ages 5-12. Read more about Jennie's...

Jake Thompson is the founder of Heroes Academy , an Acton Academy in Boise, Idaho that he opened in 2016. Jake is also now the head of the entire Acton Academy network, which includes over 300 learner-driven schools serving thousands of students worldwide.   Check out Kerry's LiberatED interview with Acton Academy network cofounder,  Jeff Sandefer . *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e...

Today's guests are Taylor Munro and Lacey Fickes, cofounders of Peak Academy , a microschool in Richmond, Texas currently serving students in grades K-8, with a high school expansion in the works. They launched Peak Academy in August 2022, but prior to that both founders worked for many years as public school teachers in Texas.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on educat...

Tonya Kipe was an elementary school teacher in Florida public schools for over a decade before launching Kipe Academy , a microschool in Polk City, Florida. She grew her microschool from one student in January 2024 to 26 students today, including those with special learning needs. Read more about Tonya's microschool in Kerry's latest article at The 74 . *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly Liberat...

Today's guest is Latoya Nelson, founder of The Attuned Community School , a hybrid homeschool program in Warner Robins, Georgia. Latoya is an experienced educator who taught in public schools and charter schools for over a decade. She has been especially interested in working with children in foster care, as well as adoptive families. Latoya launched her microschool in August 2022 after participat...

Don and Ashley Soifer of the National Microschooling Center join me to talk about some of their microschooling predictions for 2025.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .

Giselle McClymont knew from second grade that she wanted to be a teacher. She went on to earn an education degree in college and taught in Florida's Broward County public elementary schools for six years before leaving the system in 2022 to be a stay-at-home-mom with plans to homeschool her daughter. A year later, she learned about microschools and was hooked. Giselle soon launched  Tree Stars Lea...

Susan Haws is the founder and Executive Director of Insight Colearning , a private learner-centered, micro-high school located in Durham, North Carolina. She began her career as a Teach For America member in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas in 1993. She went on to teach middle school and high school in traditional public schools, until she left the classroom to earn a Ph. D. from UNC-Chapel Hill. In...

Our guest today is Coi Morefield, founder of The Lab School of Memphis in Tennessee whose newest endeavor is Microschool Masters , a masterclass program for innovative schools and spaces that provides professional development resources for microschool teachers and leaders.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .  

Melanie Leone is a former public school teacher with a Master's degree in Educational Leadership. Over the course of her career, she's worked in multiple states and spent five years as a childcare center director which changed her philosophy of education. In fall 2023, she founded Anchor Center for Learning in Stow, Ohio as a three-day-a-week, multi-age microschool that emphasizes student autonomy...

Today's podcast guest is Tyler Thigpen, co-founder and CEO of The Forest School: An Acton Academy , The Forest School Online, and the Institute for Self Directed Learning in Fayetteville, Georgia. Tyler is also the Academic Director at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a guest lecturer at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and co-author of the new book,...

Kate Brockmeyer is the founder of Off the Page Co-Learning , a microschool located just outside of St. Louis, Missouri that now serves nearly 200 students, ages 4 to 17.   Kate launched her microschool in the fall of 2022 and has seen the program's popularity soar since then. She's attentive to the needs and wants of the homeschooling families she serves, and is continually adding and adapting pro...

Melissa Borkowski is the cofounder, along with her husband Nick, of Acton Studios of Rochester in Rochester, New York that is part of the vast Acton Academy network of learner-driven schools serving thousands of learners around the world. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .

Debra Ross is a homeschool mom and the founder, publisher, and CEO of Kids Out And About, LLC, a media and marketing company that provides information on family-focused resources and events in communities across the country through its two main platforms, KidsOutAndAbout.com and  BeyondTheNest.com , which reach 11 million visitors.   *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on e...

Sara Casey Taleff has been involved in education for more than 20 years, working in public schools in New York City as well as at the state Department of Education in Montana. For the last 10 years, Sara has lived between Montana and New York creating innovative learning environments. She founded and directs the nonprofit, Cottonwood , which operates learning centers Helena and Brooklyn. Jenna Hil...

Collin Hitt, Ph. D., is the executive director of the Policy Research in Missouri Education ( PRIME ) Center at Saint Louis University in Missouri. He is also a homeschooling dad and the co-author of a new report on homeschooling's growth that was recently published in the  Journal of School Choice. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberate...

Luba Vangelova is the founder of The Hub , a part-time online microschool for homeschooled teens and tweens that emphasizes curiosity, collaboration, and community. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .

Kimberly Amee is a homeschool mom and former teacher who in 2021 founded Above Reproach Academy , a private umbrella school, homeschool co-op, and educational resource center located in Spring Hill, Florida that now serves over 100 learners.  *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .

Ar'Jillian Gilmer is the founder of Gilmer's Learning Solutions , a tutoring center and microschool in Little Rock, Arkansas. A public school teacher for nearly a decade, Ar'Jillian felt the pull towards education entrepreneurship and creating innovative learning options for local children. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated .