LiberatED Podcast

Founded in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1968, the Sudbury Valley School has been championing non-coercive, self-directed, democratic education for decades, and has inspired the growth of dozens of Sudbury-model schools around the world. If you're a frequent listener to the podcast, you know that three of my children attend SVS, which is a low-cost, secular, private school located about 45 minutes outside of Boston. My guest today is Mikel Matisoo, who joined the staff at Sudbury Valley School in 1988 after a brief stint as a public school teacher in New York City. His children graduated from SVS and his grandchildren now attend the school, which continues to challenge students, teachers, parents, and policymakers to think differently about education.

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Rachelle Noble is the founder of Microschool Solutions, a microschool accelerator program that helps new microschool founders to launch their programs in communities across the U.S. She also runs Noble Microschools, a home-based microschool in Arizona in which all students attend tuition-free through the state's universal school choice programs.

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Blair Lee is the founder of Secular, Eclectic, Academic (SEA) Homeschoolers, an online homeschooling community reaching over 100,000 families with curriculum resources, connection, and encouragement.

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Kymberly Kent is the cofounder and director of eXtend Homeschool Tutorial in Maryland, a faith-based homeschool program offering a la carte classes in core academic subjects for roughly 100 elementary, middle school, and high school homeschooled students.

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A former public school teacher and founder of Colossal Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Shiren Rattigan is expanding her microschool model by creating a franchise network of "colossalized" microschools throughout the Sunshine State, as well as lacunhing Colossal Online to enable learners everywhere to access high-quality, highly individualized education.

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Forest schools and similar nature-based programs are often concentrated in the preschool and early-elementary grades, but Jaime Peterson and Rebecca Westbrook Toker recognized the demand for these programs for middle schoolers and beyond. Listen to their founder journey to create REconnect Nature School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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Despite frustrating regulatory barriers, Danielle McLean and her cofounders launched Keystone Education Center in Vero Beach, Florida this fall. The microschool currently serves 17 neurodiverse students ages 9 to 13—including Danielle's autistic twin boys. The team plans to add a high school in the coming years. Two of Danielle's cofounders left their jobs as local public school special education teachers to build and work at this school. All of Keystone's students attend with tuition support from Florida's school choice programs.

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At Skola Microschool near Minneapolis, students and teachers spend much of their day outside, leading to happier, healthier experiences for all. Founded in 2022 by Kristin Fink, Skola has reached capacity with 25 K-8 students. Rather than expand, Kristin and her lead teacher, Ginger Montezon, are supporting other entrepreneurial teachers throughout Minnesota who want to launch similar programs in their communities.

The Rise of Education Entrepreneurs in Minnesota (Forbes.com)

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Jill Haskins is a homeschooling mom in Fort Wayne, Indiana and former microschool teacher who now works closely with the National Microschooling Center as an ecosystem builder within Indiana and across the U.S.

Jill currently works with 80 microschools across Indiana—30 of which launched this fall. She expects to see more than 150 microschools in the state in 2025.

Jill estimates that 85% of the students currently in a microschool in Indiana are attending tuition-free or nearly so using one of Indiana's school choice programs.

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Marisa Palmer is the cofounder, along with her husband Brandon, of Acton Academy Madison West in Madison, Wisconsin. A former investment banker and hedge fund analyst in New York City, Marisa launched her microschool in January 2023 with four students as part of the global Acton Academy network of learner-driven schools. Today, she has 15 students enrolled in her school, including her 8-year-old son, and expects to grow significantly over the next three years.

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Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly LiberatED e-newsletter on education trends at fee.org/liberated.