Cool Schools: Season Three Roundup
It’s that time again. We’re recapping each episode in the latest season of our Cool Schools podcast.
In this series, EdChoice Director of National Research Mike McShane spotlights some—you guessed it—cool schools across the country. He gets in the weeds, asking school leaders all the burning questions we education geeks care about.
For those of you who may have missed a few episodes or just want to relive your favorites, browse all eight episodes below.
1. Cool Schools with Grace Prep
To kick off season three, we sat down with Chris Harper, head of school of Grace Prep—the first university-model school to open in America. This Texas school opened in 1992, and now there are more than 88 university-model schools across the country.
2. Cool Schools with Jefferson Academy
What is a Core Knowledge school? What does it mean to hybrid homeschool? We chatted with Tim Matlick, executive director of the Jefferson Academy and the Summit Academy Home School program, to explore these topics and more.
3. Cool Schools with Legacy Classical Christian Academy
In the summer of 2010, six families joined forces to open a university model-school in the Fort Worth, Texas, area. Today, Legacy Classical Christian Academy serves roughly 100 students. Learn more about this tight-knit school and what it means to follow both a classical education and university model.
4. Cool Schools with Alliance Christian Academy
Christy Wilson, dean of academics at Alliance Christian Academy, recounted the founding of the school, how they foster parent involvement and more.
5. Cool Schools with Fleming County
As homeschooling increased in their county, Fleming County Schools in Kentucky began to explore what barriers are causing parents to stray from public schools. Now, the school system offers a virtual program to merge the traditional school setting with the at-home setting.
6. Cool Schools with Sequitur Classical Academy
We discussed the classical education model, how the school divides grade levels, their unique half-day schedule and more.
7. Cool Schools with Prenda Micro-schools
What is a micro-school, anyway?
Kelly Smith of Prenda micro-schools and Sarah Raybon of the Arizona School Tuition Organization joined us to talk about Prenda’s new and innovative approach to education.
8. Cool Schools with Epic Charter Schools
To round out this season, we spoke with Ben Harris, co-founder of Epic Charter Schools. Learn how this free, public, online charter school—yes, you read that correctly—uses learning centers, a learning fund and more.
Don’t want to miss out when season four begins? Subscribe to our podcast—available wherever you listen to podcasts!
