As Season Two comes to a close, co-hosts Vashaunta Harris, Jim Goenner, Don Cooper, and Ember Reichgott Junge reflect on 30 years of chartering — the bold ideas, courageous people, and enduring lessons that continue to shape public education today.

This conversation isn’t just about history — it’s about the future. Together, the hosts look back on the movement’s biggest themes and ask how we can continue to honor the original charter promise: freedom, accountability, innovation, and equity.

They explore what’s next for chartering as a living, evolving idea — one that still challenges leaders to think differently about policy, people, and possibilities for kids.

What have the last 30 years of chartering taught us about policy, people, and kids? How do those lessons prepare us for the next generation of change?

Chartering was designed to make space for innovation. What have we learned from the compromises of the past — and how can we refine our frameworks for what’s next?

From pioneers to policymakers, chartering has always been fueled by people. What leadership traits stand out across decades of change?

Behind every law and policy are students whose lives have been transformed. How do we keep them — not politics — at the center of the story?

Echoing Ted Kolderie’s insight — “the solutions come from those closest to the action” — the conversation reaffirms that the next era of chartering will depend on listening to teachers, families, and communities.

Vashaunta Harris:

Final Message:

Explore the people, papers, and policies that shaped 30 years of chartering through the Founders Library:

Interview of Ember Reichgott Junge

Zero Chance of Passage: The Pioneering Charter School Story

The Founders: Inside the Revolution to Invent (and Reinvent) America’s Best Charter Schools