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KindlED | The Prenda Podcast
The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments through microschooling. Powered by Prenda, 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 curiosity, motivation, and well-being in young learners. Do you have a question, topic, or story you'd like to share with us? Get in touch at podcast@prenda.com.
Episodes
106 episodes
Episode 96: Reconnecting to Joyful Learning. A Conversation with Meredith Reyes.
We sit down with former public school teacher Meredith Reyes to unpack the moment burnout stopped being manageable and started being dangerous. She shares how moving states changed her working conditions overnight and how homeschooling helped h...
Episode 95: A Mathematician's Lament. A Conversation with Paul Lockhart.
We talk with mathematician and author Paul Lockhart about how school can drain the life out of math and why real mathematics feels more like art than a subject. We argue for desire, honesty, and beautiful explanations as the center of learning,...
Episode 94: Recentering the Family. A Conversation with Matt Beaudreau.
We talk with Matt Beaudreau about why kids are born motivated and how schools and homes can accidentally train that drive into distraction and compliance. We dig into microschools, family sovereignty, and practical ways to build capable young p...
Episode 93: School Choice Matters. A Conversation with Morgan Camu.
We explore why more parents are rethinking the default school path and how real support makes school choice easier. From being mislabeled in school to helping scale education choice, our guest shares how families can find better-fit options.
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Episode 92: The Imagination Crisis. A Conversation with Nicole Jarbo.
We name the “imagination crisis” holding education back and argue that better schools start with better dreaming, not just better funding or tools. We share how 4.0 Schools helps change-curious builders and turn rough ideas into real tests whil...
Episode 90: Microschools for Texas Families. A Conversation with Colleen Dippel.
We dig into what parents actually want from schools: strong reading and math, safety and belonging, and communication that treats families like partners. Texas’s EFA, new accreditation pathways for microschools, and the rise of homeschooling po...
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Episode 91: Education Disruption: Where are we now? A Conversation with Michael Horn.
We examine how disruption theory applies to K–12 and how microschools and ESAs shift power from systems to families. We discuss rigor, the science of reading, special education, and how districts could operate in a more plural, community-center...
Episode 89: Microschools are Everywhere. A Conversation with Meredith Olson.
We name the real barrier in education as the status quo mindset and share how Vela backs nearly 5,000 founders building learner-centered options. Meredith traces her journey from engineering and finance to education, explains the data behind mi...
Episode 88: Money For Microschools. A Conversation with Allison Serafin.
We trace Allison Serafin’s path from restless learner to teacher, elected education leader, and capital guide who helps schools access facilities and finance. The heart of the talk is practical: how founders can become “underwritable” without l...
Episode 87: Innovating From Within: Public Microschools. A Conversation with Victoria Andrews.
We explore how joy, autonomy, and real-world experiences transform learning from third grade to high school, and how microschools inside and alongside public systems meet students where they are. Victoria Andrews shares the question that change...
Episode 86: What Does it Take to Start a Microschool? A Conversation with Brittany Miller.
We explore the front lines of the microschool movement with Brittany Munk-Miller, a Prenda microschool specialist, and unpack what it really takes to start small, teach with heart, and track meaningful growth beyond letter grades. We share stor...
Episode 85: Removing Education Barriers in Arkansas. A Conversation with Laurie Lee and Emmy Henley.
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 ho...
Episode 84: The Power of On-Campus Microschools. A Conversation with Robby Meldau.
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 lab...
Episode 83: Partnering for Innovation. A Conversation with Amy McGrath.
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 learnin...
Episode 82: School Choice: The Great Debate. A Conversation with Mike McShane.
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,...
Episode 81: Embracing your Child's Uniqueness. A Conversation with Matt Bowman.
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...
Episode 80: Help! My Kid Hates Writing. A Conversation with Julie Bogart.
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...
Episode 79: Public Microschools Making a Difference. A Conversation with George Philhower.
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 synd...
Episode 78: Kids Do Well if They Can. A Conversation with Stuart Ablon.
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...
Episode 77: The Power of Project Read. A Conversation with Vivek Ramakrishnan.
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 Mi...
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Episode 76: Excellence in Writing. A Conversation with Andrew Pudewa.
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 ...
Episode 75: School Choice For All Families. A Conversation with Matt Ladner.
We explore how Education Savings Accounts move accountability to families, why universal eligibility builds durable coalitions, and what it takes to grow small pilots into statewide “oaks” that actually meet demand. Matt Ladner shares lessons f...
Episode 74: Making Math Relevant. A Conversation with Jo Boaler.
Dr. Jo Boaler shares her groundbreaking work in mathematics education, exploring how beliefs shape learning and how we can transform math instruction to help every student succeed.• Starting her career in London schools where she discov...
Episode 73: Finding Your Family's Learning Path. A Conversation with Elle Rowley.
Elle Rowley shares her transformative journey from struggling high school student to successful entrepreneur and educational innovator creating alternative learning environments for children in her community. Through personal experience and exp...
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Episode 72: Getting High School Right. A Conversation with Chad Carlson.
Chad Carlson shares how One Stone Lab School uses human-centered design to transform education by treating students as end users rather than products. He describes their unique approach that removes traditional grades, subjects, and bells in fa...
