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podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews American Federation for Children president, CEO Tommy Schultz, Part 2

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill continues a conversation with Schultz, incoming leader of the American Federation for Children, a national advocacy organization focused on state-level systemic change that advocates for legislation to expand education choice opportunities, particularly for low-income families.

In addition to discussing Schultz’s optimism and where he sees the choice movement heading over the next several years, they review recent election results in various states that point to the opportunity for enactment of choice policies like Florida’s and the strategic investments AFC intends to make to help bring those policies to fruition.

“This is about solving poverty, the first link in the chain of something we can get right that can course-correct some of these issues that have been exposed over the past few decades in our country.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Schultz’s optimism that millions of families are waking up to new possibilities and the desire for a new consensus around the definition of public education

·       The leverage families have in exerting influence over the education system

·       AFC’s strategic investments in states poised to enact reform

·       Book recommendations and the importance of systems and systematic thinking

You can listen to Part 1 of Tuthill’s interview with Schultz here.

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Advocate VoicesCommentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFeaturedParent EmpowermentPodcast

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews American Federation for Children president, CEO Tommy Schultz

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill begins a conversation with Schultz, incoming leader of the American Federation for Children, a national advocacy organization focused on state-level systemic change that advocates for legislation to expand education choice opportunities, particularly for low-income families.

Schultz, who grew up on a farm in rural California and attended high school 60 miles from home, discusses how education choice impacted him and shares his belief that the COVID-19 pandemic has awakened many people to inequities in the modern public education system. These inequities, Schultz proposes, create an uneven playing field for many families that must be addressed by robust legislation to assist families in customizing their children’s education to best serve their needs.

“Hearing sentiments from students that we’ve been able to help, especially from lower-income communities where they’ve said their education changed the course of their family’s life … to me it gets to the fundamental core of our work.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

The mission of the American Federation for Children, Schultz’s background, and his start in the education choice movement

Schultz’s priorities as he takes the helm at AFC

Why Schultz made the decision to move AFC’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Dallas and the future of choice in Texas

How the COVID-19 pandemic will impact and shape education choice legislation

LINKS MENTIONED:

AFC’s Voices for Choice advocacy program

Be sure to return next week for Part 2 of Tuthill’s interview with Schultz.

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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation ChoiceFeaturedParental ChoicePodcastSchool ChoiceVirtual Education

revisitED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill follows up with Pasco County Principal of the Year JoAnne Glenn

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill touches base with one of the nation’s top online learning leaders. Glenn earned one of three “Digital Principal of the Year” nods from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. A founder of Pasco eSchool, which offers full- and part-time K-12 digital instruction, Glenn has led the expansion of mastery-based learning over the past 12 years and has been instrumental in creating a model for digital learning.  

The two discuss Glenn’s experience during the summer and fall of 2020 as enrollment for Pasco’s digital school increased 500% to serve nearly 3,200 full-time students. While she doesn’t anticipate many students shifting to full-time online instruction post-pandemic, she does think families will continue to look for online options to create more flexible schedules.

“We still have ongoing needs in areas that we’re continuing to collaborate around, but overall, I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       The massive increase in online student enrollment and the challenges of forecasting enrollment and staffing

·       Helping teachers develop within new learning modalities

·       Long-term changes Glenn anticipates as the result of the pandemic

·       Intentional development of digital content and the hope that districts become savvier consumers of it

To listen to Tuthill’s earlier podcast with Glenn, click HERE.

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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation ChoiceFeaturedMicroschoolsPodcastSchool Choice

revisitED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill follows up with Prenda CEO Kelly Smith

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill catches up with the founder and CEO of Arizona-based Prenda, an organization on the front lines of the micro-school tsunami that has soared during the global pandemic.

Smith describes how these home-learning environments, catering to fewer than a dozen similarly aged students, are gaining traction among families looking for creative education options. Amidst rampant uncertainty and accelerated changes to public education, micro-schools and other smaller “pod” education formations are sweeping the country – and blending mastery-based education with peer collaboration.

Smith discusses Prenda’s expansion into Colorado and his team’s experiences in working with partners to bring micro-schools to as many communities as possible, noting he’s inspired by those in district schools who see the importance of adding micro-schools to their portfolio of options. He believes there are passionate visionaries and leaders working inside traditional systems, stepping up and taking risks against the wishes of institutional pushback.

“The genie is out of the bottle (on micro-schools) … Families are reporting their child is engaged, and the format really works … A safe comfortable environment right in the neighborhood can be empowering and kids can come out of their shell.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Prenda’s most recent year and lessons learned during the pandemic

·       Assuaging parents’ fears about shifting from factory-model education and toward intrinsic, organic learning

·       The regulatory environment in particular states and Prenda’s plan for expansion

·       How school districts have stepped up to encourage micro-schools

·       The challenges that lie ahead

To listen to Tuthill’s earlier podcast with Smith, click HERE.

 

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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation ChoiceFeaturedParental ChoicePodcastSchool ChoiceVirtual Education

revisitED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill follows up with public education pioneer Julie Young

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill touches back with the vice president of education outreach and student services at Arizona State University, who also serves as managing director of Arizona State University’s Prep Academy and ASU Prep Digital.

Young, who has been celebrated as an education disruptor for nearly three decades, was founding CEO and president of Florida Virtual School, the world’s first statewide virtual school and one of the nation’s largest K-12 online educator providers.

The two discuss Young’s experience during the last few months of the COVID-19 pandemic that upended public education and accelerated massive education change. Young talks about the 700% increase in full-time students at ASU Prep Digital, which now serves more than 300,000 worldwide. Both Tuthill and Young believe new models of hybrid education will remain a part of public education post-pandemic.

“People swimming with (the changes in public education) are beginning to realize there are new and different ways of learning, that one size does not fit all.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       What Young has learned during the pandemic, what has worked, and improvement opportunities for the future

·       The creation of the Arizona Virtual Teacher Institute and Arizona’s support in empowering teachers’ evolution and skill development

·       How public school districts can ride the wave of emerging learning modes such as pods and micro-schools

·       Content development changes and new strategies that have emerged during the last school year

To listen to Tuthill’s earlier podcast with Young, click HERE.

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Commentary and OpinionCustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation Savings AccountsFeaturedPodcastSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews redefinED executive editor Matt Ladner

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill and Ladner discuss the past, present and future of education savings accounts, a long-time option for students with unique abilities through programs such as the Gardiner Scholarship that are growing in demand as families seek more flexibility and increased spending power over their children’s education.

Ladner, a recognized national school choice expert who has authored numerous studies on school choice, charter schools and special education reform, served on the team that developed the first education savings account program in Arizona. Decades of experience in education reform has led him to believe families will continue to benefit from the use of education savings accounts to engage multiple providers.

“ESA’s are the most flexible and versatile tool to really empower parents to take charge of the education of their child … It makes them ask what else they can do with this money that serves their children better.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       How the Arizona Supreme Court’s strike down of a voucher scholarship based on its Blaine Amendment led to the formation of the first education savings account

·       How education savings accounts help parents see the value and benefit of a “multi-vendor” education and how the COVID-19 pandemic has served as a watershed for the accounts, opening people’s eyes to the value of customization and flexibility

·       How traditional school districts can lead the charge in providing services for families who use education savings accounts

·       Revolutionary school developments occurring in places such as Success Academy and the explosion of micro-school facilitated by organizations such as Prenda

·       How education savings accounts can empower educators to teach in ways that motivated them to choose their profession in the first place

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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19CustomizationEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducator VoicesFaith-based EducationFeaturedNewsParental ChoicePodcastPrivate SchoolsSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews educator Danielle Marolf

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill talks with the principal of Wellmont Academy, a faith-based private school in St. Petersburg, Florida, that serves traditional grade levels – with a twist. While some students participate in in-person instruction two or three days a week, others attend in person five days a week, depending on the needs and preferences of each family.

Marolf discusses how her experience with her son’s dyslexia led her to start an untraditional school of the type now growing in popularity in Florida and nationwide. She and Tuthill also discuss the day-to-day management of a hybrid school like Wellmont, how longtime homeschool families have adjusted to a different schedule, and policy changes that are needed to give families more flexibility in spending their education dollars.

“As many negative things have come from the pandemic, I think this has definitely been a positive. It is blowing wide open the concept of how we educate our children best. Not everybody fits the same mold.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       How a small homeschooling group grew into a popular hybrid school

·       How scheduling and curriculum work for students at the same grade level but on different schedules

·       The concept of “assisted learning rooms” where students operate in small groups with teachers present to guide them

·       How Florida’s education policy needs to change to accommodate expansion of innovative school models like Wellmont Academy

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Commentary and OpinionCustomizationEducation EquityFeaturedPodcastSchool Choice

podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews education journalist Natalie Wexler

redefinED staff
redefinED staff

On this episode, Tuthill talks with writer, lawyer and legal historian Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System – and How to Fix It. Wexler argues in her book, published in 2019, that the modern “standard” approach to teaching only further increases inequities for students who do not begin their lives with education advantages at home.

The two discuss how schools should operate differently and focus on coherent curriculum that extends through grade levels. Wexler believes all individuals use their “background” knowledge subconsciously to make sense of the world around them, and that many students, through no fault of their own, enter school without that knowledge and continue to fall behind.

“Teachers have told me over and over again that it is the ‘low achievers’ who flourish the most under the content-focused, knowledge-building approach. They are the ones who make the most insightful contributions to class discussion … What’s really striking is the equity (the approach creates).”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       What Wexler’s book has to say about what’s “broken” in the education system

·       The theory that skill development driving test scores has the opposite effect

·       How Wexler views modern writing instruction and how she thinks it should change

·       Wexler’s concern about going too far toward individualized or customized learning

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