Reimagining Schools

In this episode I am talking with Dr. Scott Martin who is the founder of the Odyssey Leadership Academy. This innovative school model focuses on human flourishing as their true north. With an impressive list of accomplished students and graduates, this school is a fantastic example of how schools can look in the future! https://www.odysseyleadershipacademy.org/Dr. Scott Martin can be contacted at scottmartin.ola@gmail.com

In this episode Chase Eskelsen and I are discussing the new era of educational entrepreneurship and the importance of approaching schools differently! Prior to starting FerskenED, Chase was the Chief Operations Officer at an education nonprofit focused on creating and launching new blended learning schools and programs. Under his leadership, the nonprofit launched two blended programs and acquired an international online school with hybrid components.His educational background started at a full-time online charter school in Texas where he oversaw the operations of the school including attendance and truancy, state testing, registrars, enrollment, and main office tasks. He was then able to launch a second full-time online district school in the state. His team was able to grow enrollment from about 1,400 to approximately 8,000 at the charter and 0 students the first year to about 6,000 students when he departed the district school.He then transitioned to a role with a major EdTech company supporting the academic policy and public and government affairs teams. He ended his time with this organization as the national director of board and partner relations.Chase holds a M.Ed. in School Administration. In his free time he enjoys traveling, spending time in the mountains, gardening, and utilizing his sourdough starter in new recipes with his wife and three kids.You can find Chase on Linkedin

In this episode I am talking with Renee Porter who was the founding President and CEO of the Cristo Rey School in Oklahoma City. This model focuses on providing students from low socio-economic backgrounds an opportunity for a high quality education and work-study program that allows them to explore potential future careers starting as a high school freshman.

"Nobody ever learned anything against their will, sooner or later it becomes voluntary, you need enrollment. Enrollment in the sense that you want to learn" -Seth Godin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogMiGK0opq0In this episode I am talking with Michael Hirsch, the Executive Director of Loveworks Leadership. Loveworks Leadership, Inc. is a leadership organization committed to empowering youth to become leaders by giving every student an opportunity to lead. We discuss how students learning through their passions changes the dynamic in education and how we can see more of that type of learning connected in our schools. You can find out more and contact Michael at: https://www.loveworksleadership.org/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-hirsch-b0998348/

In this episode I am talking with Ryan Walters who is Oklahoma's Secretary of Education and is also the CEO of Every Kid Counts in Oklahoma. EKCO is a non-profit organization working towards more equitable access for all students to schools across Oklahoma. Ryan's background in public education allows him to have a unique perspective on how we can solve some of our most complicated problems in education. Find out more about Ryan on LinkedIn and EKCO at www.everykidcountsok.org

In this episode we discuss how an early passion for teaching, led Dr. Brandi Maynard down an inspiring pathway to entrepreneurship where she now focuses on her passion to provide support to gifted students and families. You can contact Dr. Maynard on LinkedIn and find out more about gifted resources at https://giftedresources.com/

In today's episode, Dr. Ulrik Juul Christensen and I discuss some of the problems and challenges facing our current education system and possible solutions. Dr. Christensen is the Executive Chairman and founding partner of Area9.Growing up in a family of educators, Dr. Christensen has long had an affinity for both teaching and learning. Since founding his first company in 1997, he has continued to devote his professional life to advancing an improved, highly individualized way of learning, and has been driving the development of Area9 and McGraw-Hill Education's adaptive learning platforms.In addition, Dr. Christensen serves on the boards and advisory boards of several educational organizations, and have served on numerous boards - both commercial and non-profit - boards the past 20+ years . He is available to connect on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulrikjuulchristensen/

In this episode, I am talking with Ryan Warriner of Ontario, Toronto. We discuss his career pathway from being a kindergarten teacher to professor, author and professional consultant/coach. You can reach out to Ryan at professionalpresentationservices.com and Ryan is also available on LinkedIn

In this episode Lea Ann discusses her background in building online school models and supporting current school districts as they innovate and grow. Lea Ann created Elevate-e-Learning.com after an entire career in public school leadership, where she was so fortunate to be in positions that allowed creativity and to lead teams to systemically think outside the box. It has been a fascinating journey for me that spans thirty-three years of building programs to meet student needs based on new (and sometimes old) legislation. She retired from school leadership in June 2021 with a passion for establishing this consulting company to help principals and school districts navigate successful school choices and innovative instructional methodologies. While her focus over the last fifteen years has been online learning (from credit recovery labs to a statewide public virtual school under the Texas Virtual Schools Network), she has experience in program building across all special programs in public education.You can reach out to Lea Ann on LinkedIn or by visiting her website at elevate-e-learning.com

In this episode Andrew Molchany shares his experiences in education, technology, school co-founder, venture accelerator and leader of student entrepreneurship programs! Andrew is a former teacher and school leader who has spent the last ten years working in education technology as a program director, ed-tech cofounder and venture accelerator leader. Originally from Virginia, Andrew is a proud graduate of James Madison University, for his undergraduate degree in Spanish, and American University, for his master's degree in education. He is also a proud Teach For America DC Region alum. Andrew has co-founded two public schools, helped launch over 100 student-led businesses, grew career-focused online learning across 25 states and has led venture accelerator programming for nearly 1,000 startup founders from 65 countries around the world. Andrew is actively engaged in the startup and ed-tech communities and now resides outside of Charleston, South Carolina where he enjoys cooking, sailing and reading children's books with his wife and two sons. You can reach Andrew via Linkedin.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Brandon Tatum who is not only an incredible thought leader in the edupreneur space but is making change happen locally and nationally in education! Dr. Brandon Tatum has spent his career working in both higher education and K-12. He is the founder of ConnectEdu and XR Box. Both companies focus on innovation by creating relevant and vibrant educational opportunities for all people. Additionally, he serves as Chief Strategy Officer for Oklahoma Christian University and part-time Executive Director of the National Christian School Association. Most recently, Dr. Tatum has been recognized for his work in educational innovation and strategy. He served on Governor Stitt's education committee focused on personalized learning and innovation, and currently serves as the Oklahoma Governor's appointee on the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Learning Commission. He also serves as a member of the Council of American Private Education Commission, the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, Oklahoma Private School Accreditation Commission and several other boards related to educational quality. He is the author of two children's books The Adventures of Grit and the Diary of a Lousy Book. His third book on Generation Z will be published in the Fall of 2021 by Wheaton Press. Brandon and his wife Megan have a seven-year-old son named Sawyer, and four-year-old twin daughters Blakely and Gentry. You can reach Dr. Tatum on Linkedin Instagram and Twitter @bctbooks.

In this episode I interview Kelly Smith founder and CEO of Prenda Schools. After a decade of interesting jobs (marketing, product management, consulting, strategy for big and small companies), Kelly found his passion: helping young people learn. He started Prenda with the goal of changing the way we think about education. For more information about Prenda, check out their website at https://www.prenda.com/ For more information about The Edupreneur Academy please reach out at https://edupreneuracademy.org/

In this episode I am talking with Adam Mangana an educational entrepreneur who is starting a classical academy virtual reality school in Florida! Information about Optimadomi and enrollment in the Classical Academy VR school can be found here: https://www.optimadomi.com/To find out more about the Edupreneur Academy, please check out our website at https://edupreneuracademy.org/

In this episode, Lisa Brent shares her background and pathway to becoming an educational entrepreneur. Lisa has spent 16 years teaching elementary education in various settings to diverse groups of students. In addition, she spent five years successfully teaching 4th grade gifted and high achieving students in an exciting, project based, rigorous, entrepreneurial, leadership, and S.T.E.A.M based program.Lisa earned a Master's of Science Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Miami and has her Professional Florida Teaching Certificate in Elementary Education and in Exceptional Student Education. Furthermore, she is Gifted and ESOL Endorsed. The E-Cubed website is https://www.elementaryentrepreneur.com/ and you can reach her at lbrent@elementaryentrepreneur.com For more information about the Edupreneur Academy, please check us out at https://edupreneuracademy.org/

In this episode I interview Marvin Vilma an educator and entrepreneur in Boston MA. Marvin was raised in Queens, NY. His parents, both Haitian immigrants, taught him the value of education at a young age, and consequently, Marvin developed a curiosity for teaching and learning. He became a teacher and entrepreneur to design meaningful and human-centered learning experiences, most recently Teaching & Learning Lab, a professional learning venture for teachers. Marvin began his teaching career at Noble and Greenough School and continued teaching at Launch, a high school entrepreneurship program hosted by MIT. He currently teaches entrepreneurship with various k-12 academic enrichment programs as well. Marvin is a graduate of Colgate University and UPenn GSE. He is currently an MBA candidate at Boston University's Questrom School of Business. You can contact Marvin at marvin@tl-lab.org Discover more about the Edupreneur Academy and support for educational entrepreneurs at https://edupreneuracademy.org/

In this episode, I interview Babur Habib, the Co-founder of the Portfolio School