Disrupt Education Podcast

What if we stopped defining young people by their past and started building their future?

In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl welcome Elton Dixon, a former Air Force intelligence officer and leader of Enay Coaching and the Enay Foundation, for a conversation that challenges how we think about foster care, education, and career readiness.

Elton shares how his work with young people in foster care revealed a troubling pattern: students were often being judged by their behavior, grades, and past experiences rather than supported in discovering their strengths and potential.

One unforgettable story involves a 17-year-old student who arrived at a foster care group home with significant learning gaps and little hope of graduating. Her teachers saw a student with a bad attitude. Elton saw a young person who needed understanding, advocacy, and the right support. She ultimately graduated on time.

That experience helped shape Elton's approach to creating systems that focus on assets instead of deficits.

The conversation explores how aptitude discovery through YouScience, career and technical education, work-based learning, and employer partnerships can help young people build a future they may never have imagined.

Elton also explains why businesses must become more involved in their communities, how foster care systems can better coordinate support, and why rural and metropolitan communities should work together rather than compete for opportunities.

He closes with a powerful story about Death Valley's superbloom, reminding us that what appears dormant may simply be waiting for the right conditions to thrive.

The question for every educator, parent, employer, and community leader: Are we building systems around young people's potential, or expecting them to fit into systems that don't see it?

Learn more about Elton's work: https://enaycoaching.com

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What would you do differently if you weren't afraid?

For educators, that question might be more important than ever.

In this episode of Disrupt Education, Peter and Alli reflect on their conversation with superintendent PJ Caposey and explore what bold leadership really looks like when it moves beyond the superintendent's office and into the classroom—and our own lives.

Alli shares the story of a woman who was terrified to jump out of an airplane. She didn't believe she could do it. But she jumped anyway. What happened next offers a powerful lesson about fear, confidence, and the decisions that change our lives.

That story leads to a bigger conversation about teachers who feel stuck in their careers, school cultures that don't value their people, and the freedom educators have to find a place where they can thrive.

Peter also challenges Alli with a question: If you could return to teaching for one more year, knowing what you know today, what would you change?

Her answer is bold: She'd throw out traditional tests.

They also discuss why the best school leaders make decisions rather than wait for perfection, how AI can support rather than replace human connection, and why authentic learning experiences matter more than checking boxes.

The message? You don't have to stay stuck. You don't have to keep doing things the way they've always been done. And you don't have to wait until you're completely fearless to take the leap.

If you've ever questioned your career, your classroom practices, or your willingness to challenge the status quo, this conversation is for you.

Disrupt Education is powered by YouScience.

Discover more: https://www.youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast

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Public education isn't broken. It's dying.

That's not a statement you hear from many sitting superintendents. But PJ Caposey isn't your typical superintendent.

In this episode of Disrupt Education, Peter and Alli welcome PJ back for a bold, unfiltered conversation about the future of public education and what it really takes to lead schools through change.

PJ has led struggling districts through difficult turnarounds, made decisions that weren't always popular, and built cultures where educators want to stay. And he believes the greatest threat to public education isn't necessarily bad teaching. It's a system that has made the profession increasingly difficult to enter, lead, and sustain.

He challenges school leaders to stop playing politics, stop chasing the next initiative, and start standing for something.

What are you willing to get fired for?

It's a question PJ asks other educational leaders, and one that might completely change how you think about leadership.

We also dig into the educator shortage, why AI should create more time for human connection, the importance of teacher retention, why unions should be partners rather than adversaries, and how his district is preparing students to graduate with industry credentials or meaningful college credit.

And PJ offers a reminder that cuts through all the noise: A school's reputation isn't built on awards or social media. It's built on the lived experiences of its students.

This episode isn't about complaining that education is broken. It's about taking responsibility for making it better.

If you're an educator, superintendent, school board member, parent, or someone who cares about the future of public education, this is a conversation you need to hear.

Disrupt Education is powered by YouScience.

Learn more: https://www.youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast

Connect with PJ: https://www.pjcaposey.com

More episodes: https://disrupteducationpodcast.com

What if the future of education isn't about finding better content, but designing better experiences?

Chris Brida returns to the Disrupt Education Podcast for Part 2, and we're taking everything we experienced in last week's Joy Labs game to another level.

Peter, Alli, and Chris dig into what it really takes to redesign professional development, build meaningful school-community partnerships, and create learning experiences that put students at the center.

Chris shares how he's using game design to help educators understand complex systems, why collecting business partners isn't the same as building a healthy partnership ecosystem, and how his Albina DLab project is bringing organizations together around mutual value and shared purpose.

We also tackle one of the most important questions in education: Why are adults designing career pathways and workforce systems without students in the room?

From Portland students solving real community problems to rethinking literacy through automotive tires and restaurant tickets, this conversation is filled with practical ideas and unexpected connections.

And Chris leaves educators with a simple challenge: Stop doing what isn't working and start designing something better.

If you believe learning should be something students experience rather than simply receive, this episode is for you.

Missed Part 1? Start with our live professional development game with Chris Brida, then come back for the deeper conversation.

Disrupt Education is powered by YouScience.

Learn more: https://www.youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast

More episodes: https://disrupteducationpodcast.com

What happens when professional development stops explaining ideas and starts letting educators experience them?

Chris Brida returns to the Disrupt Education Podcast for the first of a two-part series, and this time, we're doing something completely different.

Chris introduces Peter and Alli to his emerging Joy Labs approach by taking them through a live professional learning game. It starts with a paperclip and quickly turns into a fascinating exploration of how schools can rethink community partnerships, authentic learning, and the systems that create opportunities for students.

Along the way, we discover why having a long list of community partners doesn't necessarily create value, how constraints can lead to better learning experiences, and why the mechanics of an activity can be the lesson itself.

We also explore a question every educator should be asking: Why have we separated joy from rigorous learning?

This isn't another conversation about improving professional development. It's an opportunity to experience a different approach for yourself.

Listen, play along, and think about how you could bring this experience into your own school or community.

In Part 2, we'll dig deeper into partnership ecosystems, boundary-spanning roles, and how Chris is putting these ideas into practice.

Powered by YouScienceDiscover how YouScience Brightpath uses aptitude insights, career exploration, and real-world connections to help students find their strengths and future opportunities.Request a demo: https://www.youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast.

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Are schools really transforming education—or simply creating innovative exceptions inside the same traditional system?

Peter and Alli unpack their conversation with Scott Palmer of Ford Next Generation Learning and challenge some of education's biggest sacred cows, including the master schedule, traditional definitions of student readiness, and the idea that work-based learning should only be available to certain students.

Because students may never be “ready” until we give them the opportunity to experience something real.

The Disrupt Education Podcast is powered by YouScience Brightpath.

YouScience Brightpath, the next generation platform helping students make personalized decisions as they move from education to career. If you are serious about connecting students to real opportunities, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Request a demo and let them know you heard about YouScience right here.

Your school says it has career pathways. But what happens when you get behind the curtain?

Scott Palmer of Ford Next Generation Learning joins Peter and Alli to unpack why real career-connected education requires much more than putting students into pathways. From leadership and work-based learning to community partnerships, career academies, the master schedule, and redefining student success, Scott challenges us to stop adding programs around the edges and start transforming the system itself.

Because the real measure of education may not be graduation day. It may be what students are prepared to do Monday morning after graduation.

The Disrupt Education Podcast is powered by YouScience Brightpath.

YouScience Brightpath, the next generation platform helping students make personalized decisions as they move from education to career. If you are serious about connecting students to real opportunities, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Request a demo and let them know you heard about YouScience right here.

What if the environment students learn in matters just as much as what they’re being taught?

In this recap episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Allie Dahl revisit their conversation with Amy Zwiep of Bethel Community Education and unpack the ideas that continued to challenge them after the interview.

They explore why learner environment, student voice, trust, curiosity, ownership, and relationships may be some of the most important—and most overlooked—parts of education.

Peter reflects on a system that often teaches students what to learn before teaching them how to learn, and connects Amy’s model to the durable skills he sees students needing in internships and the professional world: problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, self-advocacy, adaptability, and ownership.

Allie shares powerful examples from her own teaching experience showing how the same students can act completely differently depending on the environment created around them. Together, they question why schools often prioritize control, curriculum pacing, and compliance over the conditions that actually help learners feel safe enough to take risks, make mistakes, and grow.

The conversation also tackles middle school design, recess, read-alouds, multi-age learning, trust, failure, teacher experimentation, and what it means to truly “disrupt from within.”

You don’t have to start a new school to rethink education.

Sometimes the biggest changes begin with one classroom, one relationship, one experiment, and one educator willing to ask:

What kind of environment am I creating for learners?

This episode is for educators, parents, administrators, and anyone who believes students deserve more than simply being told what to do next.

The Disrupt Education Podcast is powered by YouScience Brightpath.

YouScience Brightpath, the next generation platform helping students make personalized decisions as they move from education to career. If you are serious about connecting students to real opportunities, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Request a demo and let them know you heard about YouScience right here.

What happens when an educator stops asking how to improve the existing school model—and starts asking whether the model itself needs to change?

Amy Zwiep spent years wrestling with that question. She believed students were unique, learned differently, and deserved opportunities to grow their individual gifts. But she also saw an education system often driven by curriculum, pacing, testing, and age-based structures rather than by the learner.

Eventually, she decided to act.

In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Amy, founder and executive director of Bethel Community Education in Michigan, to explore what happened when she stopped simply imagining a different kind of school and actually built one.

When Amy resigned from her traditional education role in 2019, she didn't yet have funding, a building, or enrolled students. A few months later, Bethel Community Education opened with seven learners.

Amy shares what she's learned from building school differently: teachers becoming guides, students becoming learners, multi-age environments, individualized growth plans, student goal setting, peer learning, experiential education, family partnerships, student voice, real-world problem solving, and learning built around mastery rather than short-term memorization.

She also challenges one of the fundamental questions in education:

Are we trying to create students who are good at school—or young people who can think critically, advocate for themselves, solve problems, set goals, build relationships, learn from failure, and continue learning throughout their lives?

This isn't a conversation about Bethel Community Education having all the answers. In fact, Amy makes it clear that the model continues to evolve based on the learners, guides, and community it serves.

It's a conversation about having the courage to question assumptions we've accepted for generations—and then being bold enough to actually build something different.

What if school didn't have to look like school as we've always known it?

The Disrupt Education Podcast is powered by YouScience Brightpath.

YouScience Brightpath, the next generation platform helping students make personalized decisions as they move from education to career. If you are serious about connecting students to real opportunities, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Request a demo and let them know you heard about YouScience right here.

Five students. Five completely different paths. And one powerful pattern: none of them waited until someone told them they were ready.

In this special Disrupt Education Podcast Student Series recap, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl bring back Jeremy Smith of pega6 to examine what Landon Breeden, Samanta Kavaliauskaite, Samantha Rosinski, Kerry Ao, and Jay Yang can teach us about the future of education.

Jeremy identifies several traits running through these very different stories: intellectual curiosity, meaningful interests, strong relationships, willingness to fail, and the boldness to take action before everything was perfectly figured out. The students weren't fearless—their desire to move forward simply became stronger than the fear of getting it wrong.

The conversation challenges traditional assumptions about college, networking, career exploration, AI, and what it means to prepare a young person for life after high school. Jeremy explores why college increasingly sounded like a safety net rather than the primary plan for several students, why authentic professional relationships can be more powerful than résumé building, and why students need opportunities to explore rather than simply wander through predetermined pathways.

You'll also hear a fascinating discussion about AI and the importance of keeping humans at the center of learning. Jeremy explains the difference between “want-to-know” and “need-to-know” learning—and why coaches, mentors, teachers, managers, accountability, and real relationships still matter even in an AI-first world.

Ultimately, this episode isn't about creating more entrepreneurs. It's about helping more young people develop the agency to explore, build relationships, get curious, take risks, and take the first shot.

For educators and parents, the challenge may be simple:

When a student's light bulb turns on, are we ready to help them run with it?

This Student Series is proudly sponsored by pega6.

The workplace is changing, and students need more than classroom knowledge to succeed. They need real world skills and experiences, just like Landon demonstrated in today's episode.That's why pega6 is building the nation's first white collar trade school, helping students launch meaningful careers through hands on, career focused learning. Graduates enter the workforce job ready, gain valuable experience sooner, and can get a head start both professionally and financially.Whether you're a student looking for a different path or an employer searching for exceptional emerging talent, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠pega6.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and discover what's possible when education is built around experience.

The Disrupt Education Podcast is powered by YouScience Brightpath.

YouScience Brightpath, the next generation platform helping students make personalized decisions as they move from education to career. If you are serious about connecting students to real opportunities, head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠youscience.com/disrupteducation-podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠. Request a demo and let them know you heard about YouScience right here.