KindlED | The Prenda Podcast

We talk with Norman Atkins about what it takes to build schools that endure, from the early charter movement to today’s microschools and AI-powered learning. We dig into how to train great teachers, choose clear outcomes for kids, and use edtech without losing the human center of school. • Norman’s path from the Robin Hood Foundation to founding North Star Academy • Practical advice for starting a school by saying the vision out loud and recruiting partners • Early charter school lessons around innovation, sharing, and building lighthouses others can visit • Why Uncommon Schools scales quality through systems, not hero teachers • How Relay Graduate School of Education grows teacher and leader capacity • The tension between teacher autonomy and coherent student experience • A clearer definition of school purpose through explicit aims and measurable outcomes • What Zearn shows about effective math edtech with strong teacher moves • How AI in education may reshape roles for students and teachers without replacing relationships • Why books and shared reading still matter for literacy and belongingAbout our guestNorman Atkins is the Managing Partner at Array Education, an innovation studio that catalyzes and builds enduring, mission-driven teaching and learning organizations. He is the Co-Founder of Relay GSE and served as President in its first decade. He is the Founder and former CEO of Uncommon Schools; the co-founder and former Board Chair of Zearn, and the current Board Chair of Merit America, a national nonprofit that creates fast, flexible pathways to good careers for fellow citizens stuck in low-wage jobs.‍In 1997, Atkins co-founded and co-led North Star Academy of Newark, one of New Jersey’s first and most celebrated charter schools. From 1989 to 1994, he was the Co-Executive Director of the Robin Hood Foundation in New York City. Atkins has supported a number of global education projects and served on the board of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. He received the Heinz Award on the Human Condition and has been inducted into the Charter School Hall of Fame.Atkins began his career as a journalist, writing about education, poverty, politics, culture, and social issues. He received an A.B. in History and an Honorary Doctorate from Brown University and an M.A. in Educational Administration from Columbia University Teachers College.Connect with NormanUncommon SchoolsTeach for AmericaRelay Graduate School of EducationZearnGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We talk with Mickey Revenaugh, co-founder of Connections Academy and author of Schools Out, about why families are walking away from one-size-fits-all schooling. We dig into microschools, homeschooling, unschooling, and what a future “portfolio” of education options could mean for kids’ learning and mental health. • the origin story of Connections Academy and what early online learning got right and wrong • what “unconventional education” includes and why the label “alternative” misses the point • how families mix models over time rather than choosing one path for 13 years • why many kids learn resilience and self-direction faster in multi-age environments • shifting demographics in homeschooling and why old stereotypes no longer fit • how the pandemic and culture-war pressures accelerate demand for flexible options • why some districts are piloting microschools to respond to declining enrollment • roadschooling and worldschooling as a lifestyle built on remote work and online tools • unschooling basics, de-schooling, and the role of community support for parents • a bold prediction that unconventional education reaches close to half of kids at some point About our guestMickey Revenaugh is an education innovator, thought-leader and journalist. She is the co-founder of Connections Academy, a ground-breaking K-12 online school provider that launched in 2001 and now serves more than 110,000 virtual school students around the world as part of Pearson. Prior to her retirement at the end of 2022, Mickey’s work focused on bringing emerging education opportunities such as Harrow School Online and Pearson Online Academy to families around the globe. Previously, Mickey helped launch the E-rate to wire every American school to the Internet, covered edtech and online learning for leading education publications, and was the editorial director of professional magazines at Scholastic. Mickey currently serves as Board Chair of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, winner of the $10M prize for innovative school design from XQ Institute, and also chairs the non-profit boards of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the Barbara J. Dreyer Cares Foundation.Mickey earned a dual-genre MFA from Bennington College in 2017, and her creative nonfiction and fiction work has since appeared in publications as diverse as Chautauqua, LA Review of Books, and VICE. Mickey also holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from New York University.Connect with MickeyMickey RevenaughSchool's Out: Why Families Are Choosing Unconventional EducationConnections AcademyGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We talk with Latham Turner about leaving a high-performing career to homeschool after watching his son’s love of reading collapse into daily tears and declining test scores. We trace the messy first months, the breakthroughs that follow, and why connection and agency can raise a child’s learning ceiling far beyond what school labels predict. • Latham’s path from naval aviation and test pilot work to full-time homeschooling • The warning signs at school, including morning crying and sliding standardized scores • The moment teachers admit they cannot teach his child’s profile • The first homeschool days, fear, missteps, and repairing trust after a meltdown • Project-based learning through building a real airplane together • Switching approaches when a rigid plan backfires • Learning Greek for real, finding the right tutor, and reading The Odyssey in original Greek • Connection, attachment, and the parent’s inner work as the unlock for learning • Balancing direct instruction with discovery learning and student agency • Using expertise research to think beyond grades and tests • Practical guidance for parents starting out, including trusting instincts and iterating About our guestLatham Turner is a homeschooling dad working to create an education that allows his kids to advance the frontier of their potential. In the past, he was a Naval Aviator, developmental test pilot, quantum computing engineer, startup operator, and entrepreneur, but he left all of them to start homeschooling his two kids. He brings a focus on expertise studies and his experience mastering the domains he has into writing about education as a human potential problem.Connect with LathamSubstackRoots of Progress Institute FellowshipGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social• Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My MicroschoolGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We talk with Hannah Maruyama, founder of Degree Free, about why colleges don’t own education and why the “just go to college” default is failing many young adults. We break down how to plan a career path using real-life constraints, build skills through certifications and work, and decide when a degree is truly worth it. • Hannah’s personal break with college culture and conformity • The “escalator” model of schooling and why it shuts down curiosity • Separating education from career training and the cost of confusing them • Why many job “degree requirements” function as suggestions • How targeted certifications can unlock remote tech roles • The shift toward downcredentialing across industries • Why common college ROI statistics can hide debt and distort outcomes • The Degree Free Four filter: income, schedule, location, work environment • “Try before you buy” through real work before paying for credentials • Where to find Hannah’s workbooks and Degree Free support About our guestHannah Maruyama is the founder of Degree Free and the author of The Degree Free Way. She built her own Degree Free career in AI and machine learning, and now helps parents and young adults think clearly about education, work, and career paths, especially when the old default of "just go to college" no longer fits.Connect with HannahDegree FreeHannah’s BooksGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We celebrate Episode 100 by digging into Kaity’s first year guiding a home microschool and what it teaches us about building belonging, agency, and high expectations. The big takeaway is that connection comes first, then kids can take on ambitious goals and grow into capable, self-governing learners.• celebrating Episode 100 and thanking guests, listeners, and the people who kindle learning • Kaity’s KindlED shout-out to her mom and what lifelong learning looks like in real life • why Kaity chose to start a microschool despite already training guides at Prenda • designing the Wonder League culture so middle school feels safe and welcoming • using simple rituals and messages to reinforce belonging and community norms • guiding vs teaching and the “Mario Kart cloud guy” model for getting kids back on track • balancing agency with boundaries so self-directed learning stays productive • “start with heart” as the foundation for academics, behavior, and motivation • setting ambitious but doable goals and recalculating plans together as a class • coaching social skills, optimism, and civil debate through modeling and reflection • piloting Prenda high school ideas to keep learning relevant and engagingGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We draw a hard line between tweaking the school system and transforming it, starting with one idea: parents should hold the decision rights for their child’s education. We also test the biggest critiques of school choice against polling, program data, and real parent experiences with flexibility and accountability.• why “reform” misses the real problem and why transformation fits the moment • what education freedom means in practice and how decision rights have flipped since COVID • why families say they want different schools rather than “better” versions of the same model • how microschools and homeschooling are growing and what customization makes possible • what parents tell pollsters they want most and the size of the flexibility gap • where ESAs and school choice policy are expanding across states and what demand looks like • how to respond to claims about bankrupting public schools, fraud, waste, and accountability • why switching schools can be stronger accountability than test-based systems About our guestMatt Frendewey is the vice president of strategy at yes. every kid. Matt has over two decades of experience in strategic communications, which includes working as a senior advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Gov. Jeb Bush at Foundation for Excellence in Education. A Michigan native, Matt spent eight years working for the Michigan Department of Attorney General, and has held various roles in both gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. Matt resides in Washington, D.C. with Jenn and their two dogs, and remains a loyal Detroit Tigers fan.Connect with Mattyes. every kid. Matt’s substackGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We ask what it would take to stop treating public education as a zero-sum culture war and start funding many legitimate school models with shared expectations for quality. We trace how America became an outlier, then get specific about what knowledge-rich curriculum and real intellectual work can look like in classrooms and microschools.• educational pluralism as a tax-funded mosaic of school options held to a quality bar • why the United States diverges from global norms in public education funding • the 19th-century nativist backlash against Catholic schools and the myth of “neutral” common schools • five philosophical arguments for pluralism, including justice, civic obligation, and the role of civil society • how pluralism differs from today’s school choice politics and zero-sum thinking • why skills-based instruction fails without background knowledge in history, geography, science, and literature • what “joyful rigor” looks like, plus examples from charter schools, IB programs, and curriculum-aligned assessments • why great materials often fail in practice, including low expectations and habit-driven lesson-making • how to balance core shared content with curiosity, discussion, and student-driven deep dives About our guestAshley Berner is Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and Associate Professor of Education. Palgrave MacMillan released Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School (2017), and Harvard Education Press released her new book, Educational Pluralism and American Democracy: How to Handle Indoctrination, Promote Exposure, and Rebuild America’s Schools, in April 2024.Ashley Berner has published dozens of journal articles, book chapters, op-eds, and a widely watched TedX talk on citizenship formation, academic outcomes, pluralism, and the political theories of education in different national contexts. She led the design of the Institute’s School Culture 360™ and ELA and Social Studies Knowledge Maps™. She represents the Institute’s work across the country and consults regularly with international, federal, and state-level agencies, non-governmental organizations, and school systems.Connect with AshleyEducational Pluralism and DemocracyPluralism and American Public EducationThe Myth of the Common SchoolSeparation of Church and StateGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We talk with Tyler Thigpen about building student agency through self-directed learning, and why kids thrive when they have purpose, strong relationships, and real choices. We dig into practical frameworks for families and educators who want to move beyond compliance without losing rigor or essential skills.• Tyler’s origin story and the mission to help kids flourish• Why boredom and drudgery persist in conventional classrooms• A clear definition of agency as skill, will, and goals• The DRIP pathway: desire, resourcefulness, initiative, persistence• Adult formation and unlearning control to become guides• How to think about a national “floor” plus deep personalization• Mastery transcripts as a portfolio and competency-based alternative to grades• Moving from external validation to intrinsic motivation in learners and adults• Freedom levels, consequences, and gradual release of autonomy• Helping kids “make deals with themselves” to build integrity and ownershipAbout our guestTyler grew up in Georgia and has worked in innovative district, private, and charter schools, as well as statewide and national nonprofits. Tyler is co-founder and CEO of The Forest School: An Acton Academy in Trilith, The Forest School Online, and the Institute for Self-Directed Learning. He is Academic Director at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and a Guest Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.Connect with TylerInstitute for Self Directed LearningThe Forest School@weareforestschool on Instagram@tylerthigpen on InstagramThe Playbook for Self-directed LearningGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We sit down with former public school teacher Meredith Reyes to unpack the moment burnout stopped being manageable and started being dangerous. She shares how moving states changed her working conditions overnight and how homeschooling helped her rebuild learning around safety, curiosity and mastery. • Meredith’s path from lifelong “teacher kid” to ten-year public school veteran • COVID-era boundary shifts that made teachers feel less valued • IEP realities when supports do not match student needs • Paperwork, assessments and required programs crowding out teaching time • Class size pressure and why union protections mattered in California • Texas culture shock: pay cut, longer days, extra events and unprotected prep • The mental health spiral that led to a mid-year resignation • An active shooter drill that felt real and reshaped school safety concerns • Early homeschooling mistakes: recreating school at home • De-schooling and building a flexible family rhythm for learning • Inquiry-based learning and following rabbit holes on purpose • Mixed-age co-op learning and why age grouping is a school construct • Rethinking grades through mastery-based learning and repeated practice • The value of conversation as assessment, not just worksheets • Books and voices that helped, including Julie Bogart and The Brave Learner • The teachers who kindled Meredith’s love of learning early on About our guestMeredith Reyes is an experienced classroom teacher in both California and Texas. After years of teaching in public schools she decided to make the move to homeschool her own children. Meredith shares her journey on instagram as @thestringymama.Connect with MeredithThe Stringy MamaGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool

We talk with mathematician and author Paul Lockhart about how school can drain the life out of math and why real mathematics feels more like art than a subject. We argue for desire, honesty, and beautiful explanations as the center of learning, then share concrete puzzles that show what math looks like when it is alive. • why “school teaches school” and how schoolification ruins natural curiosity • learning as a personal gift and teaching as inspiration rather than control • mathematics as pattern, proof, and the art of explanation • building a mathematical worldview through questions and play • practical ways adults avoid killing desire in kids • what a workshop-style math class looks like without tests or homework • domino tiling and checkerboard reasoning as a model for elegant proof • why formulas stick only after you can see the idea • protecting your mind and reclaiming happiness as a learning goal • a surprising shout-out to a student who changed Paul’s thinking About our guestPaul Lockhart is the author of Arithmetic, Measurement,  A Mathematician’s Lament, and Mending Broken Bones. He has taught mathematics at Brown University, University of California, Santa Cruz, and to K-12 level students at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn, New York.Connect with PaulA Mathematician’s LamentArithmeticMeasurementMending of Broken BonesGot a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!About the podcastThe KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.Got a burning question?We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to [email protected]. Let's dive into the conversation together!Important links:• Connect with us on social • Get our free literacy curriculumInterested in starting a microschool?Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool