We explore how a mother and daughter helped turn Arkansas into a leading state for school choice, sharing hard-won lessons from family needs, policy battles, and the explosive growth of microschools. Stories, strategy, and straight talk show how parents and educators can build options that fit real kids.

• personal journey from limited options to statewide advocacy
• the mission and work of Reform Alliance supporting families
• education freedom accounts and scholarship access
• real family stories showing assistive tools and homeschool support
• why one size never fit all and why options matter
• launching 10 microschools in 30 days across Arkansas
• practical advice on starting a microschool around local needs
• overcoming fear, trusting parents, and iterating fast
• legacy, mentorship, and passing the torch to new leaders

About our guests
Laurie Lee serves as Chairman and Executive Director of The Reform Alliance, a nonprofit committed to ensuring every K-12 student in Arkansas has access to a world-class education. For more than 20 years, Laurie has been involved in the School Choice movement through policy development, coalition building, and collaboration with national education reform leaders. The Reform Alliance has been instrumental in advancing Arkansas's three School Choice programs: the Succeed Scholarship (a voucher), recently absorbed into the Education Freedom Accounts (an Education Savings Account),  and the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids Scholarship (a tax credit program).

Emmy Henley’s journey in education reform began at 16, volunteering with after-school and mentoring programs. Her passion for championing Arkansas students led her to join The Reform Alliance. She has spent the past decade helping drive the success of the Succeed Scholarship, now part of the state’s Education Freedom Accounts (EFA). Today, she oversees the Philanthropic Investment in Arkansas Kids tax credit scholarship, supports the EFA program, and manages The Reform Alliance staff. This team travels statewide, building parent coalitions and developing innovative models like microschools.

Connect with Laurie and Emmy
The Reform Alliance

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 trace a principal’s journey from Teach For America to a nine-year commitment leading a high-need neighborhood school, then dive into how a microschool inside the campus turned behavior crises into growth and engagement. The result: fewer labels, more joy, and a practical path other schools can follow.

• why labels from tests and adults damage motivation and identity
• how a 10-student microschool structure lowers behavior issues
• the surprising success of introverts in small, intentional groups
• keeping ties to homeroom, electives, lunch, and campus culture
• student voice and choice as drivers of academic acceleration
• leadership longevity, trust, and ground-up innovation
• advice for launching microschools within districts
• focusing accountability on kids and families, not systems

About our guest
Robby Meldau is in his 14th year as a public school educator and 9th year as principal at Eisenhower Center For Innovation (ECFI), a PreK-6 neighborhood elementary school in Mesa, Arizona. Prior to arriving at Eisenhower, Robby was a 5th grade math and science teacher at Reyes Maria Ruiz Leadership Academy in South Phoenix. He entered teaching as a 2011 Teach For America Phoenix Corps Member and later worked in teacher training and support roles with Teach For America’s summer institute and Phoenix regional team. Robby has also served as a member of the Teach for America Arizona Alumni Board and as the President elect of the Mesa Association of School Administrators.

Connect with Robby
Eisenhower Center for Innovation

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 challenge the assumption that boredom is a student problem and show how design, mentorship and partnerships can make school feel alive. Amy McGrath shares the path from Florida Virtual to ASU Prep’s Digital Plus microschools, mastery learning and the new Tempe Levitt Lab.

• student-centered models that treat boredom as a design signal
• lessons from Florida Virtual and one-to-one mentorship
• hybrid learning that mixes digital core with in-person projects
• ASU Prep Digital Plus hubs and personalized learning guides
• partnerships with Khan Academy, Steve Levitt and John Williams
• wonder sessions and Socratic seminars that deepen curiosity
• mastery, alternative credentials and university collaboration
• practical steps to start, fund and pilot new models
• mentorship that tells the truth and removes drag

About our guest
Amy McGrath is the VP of Educational Outreach and Student Services at Arizona State University, Managing Director of ASU Preparatory Academy, and Chair of the Board for ASU Prep Global. She leads the design and national scaling of innovative learning models in partnership with over 350 school districts via ASU Prep Global. Amy co-designed Khan World School with Sal Khan and is passionate about using emerging technologies to boost engagement and learning. Her past roles include leading product development for 600,000+ learners at Florida Virtual School and advising international education leaders on blended learning. She writes extensively on the intersection of innovation and opportunity, serves on the boards of the World Series of Entrepreneurship, Class Technologies, and Trace Academy, and is committed to redesigning the student experience from the inside out. Amy holds a Bachelor's in Social Science Education and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of South Florida.

Resources in this Episode
Levitt Lab
Dreamscape Learn
Khan World School
Florida Virtual School
Julie Young

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 trace the rise of school choice from early voucher experiments to modern ESAs, unpack how funding actually follows students, and use fresh data to separate myths from reality. Mike McShane shares trends on parent preferences, teacher morale, and why safety and fit now drive decisions.

• defining vouchers, ESAs, tax credits and open enrollment
• how school funding works and what follows students
• common school history, Zelman ruling and universal expansion
• charter schools and homeschool regulation contrasts
• enrollment shares versus parent preferences by sector
• arguments for and against school choice, addressed charitably
• why families switch: bullying, stress and unmet needs
• impacts on districts, hold-harmless provisions and supply growth
• teacher morale trends and why microschools attract educators
• ten-year outlook and how states can make access truly universal

About our guest
Dr. Michael McShane is Director of National Research at EdChoice. He is the author, editor, co-author, or co-editor of twelve books on education policy, including his most recent Getting Education Right (w/ Rick Hess). He is currently an opinion contributor to Forbes, and his analyses and commentary have been published widely in the media, including in USA Today, The Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. A former high school teacher, he earned a Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas, He is also a senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute and an adjunct fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Connect with Mike
edchoice.com
Getting Education Right

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 explore how to choose schooling with intention and build an “open education” that taps every resource that fits your child. Matt Bowman shares five building blocks that move families from one-size-fits-all to agency, community, and practical pathways beyond high school.

• partnering with parents as primary educators
• the myth of the average student and unique needs
• choosing your child over your reputation
• mapping interests, family needs, and resources
• giving kids a real voice in decisions
• two-week learner sprints and showcase nights
• play, limits, and latitude for engagement
• microschools and community as an antidote to AI noise
• flexible post–high school pathways including apprenticeships and certifications

About our guest
Matt Bowman is an innovator in education and technology and is deeply dedicated to transforming the way children learn. He and his wife, Amy, founded OpenEd together, and the Bowmans have spent over three decades championing personalized education, combining cutting-edge technology with an entrepreneurial spirit to help students thrive in a rapidly changing world. A former sixth-grade teacher and tech executive, Matt has been at the forefront of online education since the 1990s.

Connect with Matt
Open Education
OpenEd.co

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 challenge the grading mindset that squeezes the life out of young writers and replace it with coaching, curiosity, and real audiences. Julie Bogart shares practical steps—jot-it-down, family freewrites, reader response, playful revision, and a kind mechanics mop-up—that help kids find their voice.

• treating writing as self-expression first, transcription second
• separating ideas from mechanics and using scribing or voice-to-text
• shifting from evaluation to allyship and coaching
• creating real audiences to replace single-grader assignments
• using jot-it-down to “publish” kids’ spoken words
• family freewrites to build fluency and confidence
• reader response that guides without wounding
• playful revision that builds flexibility and voice
• gentle mechanics mop-up with student choice and intent
• releasing parent performance pressure and trusting development

About our guest
Julie Bogart is known for her common sense writing, critical thinking and home education advice. Julie’s the creator of the award-winning, innovative online writing program called Brave Writer serving 191 countries and hundreds of thousands of families. She is the author of Help! My Kid Hates Writing, The Brave Learner and Raising Critical Thinkers.

Her Substack, podcast, and social media are wildly popular sources of support to weary, well-intentioned parents. Julie home educated her five children who are now adults and she has three grandchildren.  

Connect with Julie
Brave Writer
Substack
Podcast
@Julie Bogart

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 explore how clear promises to families can reshape a district and spark a statewide network of microschools. George shares the roadmap from listening to homeschoolers to opening a K–12 site at a campground, plus the courage and imposter syndrome that come with big dreams.

• four promises as the foundation for culture and decisions
• replacing compliance‑driven teacher evaluation with growth
• enrollment insights from homeschool and virtual families
• designing a statewide charter and governance model
• launching a K–12 microschool at a youth campground
• multi‑age, self‑paced, hands‑on learning in small groups
• founder support through district back‑office services
• honest trade‑offs on services, logistics and scale
• using microschools as living labs for district change
• practical advice for leaders facing imposter syndrome

About our guest
Dr. George Philhower serves as the superintendent at Eastern Hancock Schools in Indiana.  He holds a Bachelors in Elementary and Special Education from Cardinal Stritch University, a Masters in Instructional Leadership from the University of Indianapolis, and an Ed.S. and Ph.D. from Indiana State University.  George imagines a future where every student and educator wakes up genuinely excited to go to school—not because they have to, but because they know it’s a place where they are safe to be themselves, where success is attainable, where their work has meaning, where friendships thrive, and where they are greeted by adults who truly see, support, and love them. George is convinced that the best way to make this vision a reality is through collaboration among leaders in the field of education who are committed to disrupting the status quo. George works hard to share the work happening in his district and learn from others in the field in order to make his vision a reality.

Connect with George
Indiana Microschool Collective

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 rethink “behavior problems” with Dr. Stuart Ablon, showing why kids struggle when skills lag and how collaboration—not control—creates durable change. We walk through Plan B step-by-step, with a classroom role play that turns disruption into progress.

• kids do well if they can as core mindset
• relationship quality as strongest predictor of change
• plans A, B, C defined with pros and cons
• plan B three steps: empathy, adult concern, invite solutions
• externalizing the problem to reduce defensiveness
• real-time role play: talking during math
• testing solutions against both concerns for realism
• building intrinsic motivation via mastery, autonomy, relatedness
• strategic use of plan C for prioritization
• how adults regulate themselves to avoid power struggles
• resources for learning more about Think Kids and Collaborative Problem Solving

About our guest
Stuart Ablon, Ph.D., is Founder and Director of Think:Kids in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. An award-winning psychologist, Dr. Ablon is Associate Professor and the Thomas G. Stemberg Endowed Chair in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of three books, Changeable, hand-picked by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Dan Pink, and Susan Cain for their Next Big Idea Club, The School Discipline Fix, and Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. Dr. Ablon received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. One of the world’s top-rated thought-leaders and keynote speakers, Dr. Ablon teaches educators, parents, clinicians, managers, and leaders a very different approach to understanding and addressing challenging behavior of all types and in all people. Dr. Ablon has helped hundreds of organizations throughout the world implement the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.

Connect with Stuart
Stuart Ablon
Changeable
The School Discipline Fix

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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 explore why reading scores have fallen, what the Science of Reading actually demands in classrooms, and how AI can scale productive practice without replacing human connection. Vivek Ramakrishnan shares data, bright spots from states like Mississippi, and a grounded look at tutoring tech that helps kids decode for real.

• national reading trends and why they predate the pandemic
• foundations beneath fourth-grade comprehension scores
• what the Science of Reading supports and what it rejects
• bright spots in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama
• why early literacy beats late remediation
• explicit instruction, decodables and fluency development
• differences between math rules and English patterns
• how AI scales individualized practice and feedback
• classroom constraints, noise and practical setup
• empowered learners and the moment self-correction clicks

About our guest
Vivek Ramakrishnan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Project Read AI, an AI-powered literacy platform for educators and students alike. Project Read's Science of Reading tool suite allows teachers to generate personalized decodable texts, fluency passages and more, while its AI Tutor delivers personalized, 1-1 early literacy tutoring using speech recognition. Through its bottoms-up, teacher-driven approach, Project Read's AI tools have been adopted by educators in over 50% of US elementary schools. Viv previously was an award-winning teacher at Freedom Preparatory Charter Schools in Memphis and Co-Founder of One City Schools in Madison, Wisconsin. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Stanford Social Impact Founder fellowship to help start Project Read.

Connect with Vivek
Project Read AI
One City Schools

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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

Andrew Pudewa, founder of the Institute for Excellence in Writing, joins us to unpack how skill-first teaching unlocks motivation, builds real confidence, and quite literally reshapes the brain for better thinking. We trace the invisible steps the mind takes to write a single sentence, then show how to lower the cognitive load with structure, small wins, and a steady climb: easy plus one.

• the true goal of writing as expressing ideas, not feelings
• why motivation follows mastery and “kids like what they can do”
• the cognitive steps of writing and why it feels hard
• breaking tasks into “easy plus one” to lower load
• building a language database through read‑alouds and poetry
• using structure and style: outlines, units, and checklists
• feedback that builds: edit to legal, A/I grading
• separating spelling from composition early on
• mixed‑age groups benefiting from repetition and modeling
• tech and AI as tools, not replacements for thinking
• resources: IEW, Arts of Language Podcast, Memory practices

About our guest
Andrew Pudewa is the founder and director of the Institute for Excellence in
Writing. Presenting around the world, he addresses issues relating to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor. His seminars for parents, students, and teachers have helped transform many a reluctant writer and have equipped educators with powerful tools to dramatically improve students’ skills. 

Connect with Andrew
Institute for Excellence in Writing
andrewpudewa.com
The Arts of Language Podcast

Got a story to share or question you want us to answer? Send us a message!

About the podcast
The 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 curriculum

Interested 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