Episode 74 - Firestarters: Patterns for Igniting School Change

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the themes that emerged from this season's conversations with 62 entrepreneurial educators who have courageously ignited change in how we do school.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Jeremy Wickenheiser, Founder and Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at DSST Public Schools. He shares his journey from teaching high school science four years ago to building an entrepreneurship program that has scaled across the large network of urban schools in Denver, Colorado.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Kesha Conway who has been piloting Korda Method across the Ashtabula Area City Schools District. They discuss a recent project in Lisa Raffa's high school Government class at Lakeside High School, where students found their agency while identifying solutions to community problems.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Nicholas Timms from Hillfield Strathallan College. He shares the story of how transforming a traditional small business course grew into a student-run Design Studio, with high school students creating solutions for local businesses.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Pam Reed, Humanities teacher at Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls. Pam shares how different it is to teach with this radically different method, as students learn history and critical thinking by solving contemporary problems that they find meaningful.

In this episode, Doris and Alison discuss the journey that led to a recent workshop with educators in Slovenia. Also featured in the episode are excerpts from some of the entrepreneurial educators and students who came to the workshop in Slovenia.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Michael Hudecek about the youth entrepreneurship program he developed as Program Manager for St. Clair Superior Development Corporation, an organization devoted to transforming one of the poorest neighborhoods in Cleveland. Michael discusses what he learned in his second iteration of the program. Michael shares his work to spread the method to local schools, including Open Doors Academy, an after school enrichment program for adolescents. Jacquelyn Clemens, Program Manager at ODA, discusses her work to embed this method across the program's curriculum.  

In this episode, Doris talks to Terry Chou, science teacher at Joaquin Miller Middle School in California. Terry shares details about her students learning innovation in her Science Enrichment and Research (SEARCH) class. Listen to what she has discovered about teaching at the intersection of science, business and technology.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Regina Rosi, Assistant Division Director & Dean of Student Life at Marlborough School, an all-girls school in Los Angeles, CA. They discuss the need to modernize leadership education in K12 schools. Regina shares the entrepreneurial approach required to design courses like these and what she has learned from using community partners to create her curriculum.

In this episode, Doris speaks with Dr. Rand Harrington and Phil Klein of Kent Denver School in Colorado. Rand is Head of School and Phil is Instructor of AP Economics, Director of the Hunt Family Institute for Entrepreneurial Education and Director of Development. They discuss creating structures in the school to leverage expertise both in and out of the building to allow for authentic learning. They highlight the importance of teachers acting as curricular architects to design classes for today's students.