Format

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E7: Hear from Mike Chalupa & LaShawn Bowser

School as Community A reflection from Mike Chalupa and LaShawn Bowser, City Neighbors Foundation, INC. City Neighbors started with families in a living room asking a question that still guides us: if we could build the best public school experience we can imagine, what would it be. Those families weren’t looking for something exclusive. They…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E7: School as Community | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What happens when a school is built around a simple, demanding belief: students learn best when they are deeply known, fully included, and trusted with real agency. In Season 3, Episode 7 of Bold By Choice Podcast, we travel to Baltimore to visit City Neighbors, a…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E6: Hear from Dr. Matthew Tyson

Neurodiversity in Action A reflection from Dr. Matthew Tyson I grew up moving every few years, living in different states and experiencing very different school systems. What stayed with me was not just the change, but the realization that a child’s educational experience can vary dramatically depending on where they live. Expectations change. Support changes….

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E6: Neurodiversity in Action | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What does it look like when inclusion is not a strategy, a program, or a compliance requirement, but the foundation of a school’s identity. In Season 3, Episode 6 of the Bold By Choice Podcast, we visit Tapestry Public Charter School, a middle and high school…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E5: Hear from Halis Kablan

Think Big. Build Big. A reflection from Halis Kablan When I first joined Beehive Science and Technology Academy nearly twenty years ago, we were a small school serving about 150 students in the basement of an office building. Resources were limited, but our mission was clear. Science and technology education should be for everyone. That…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E5: Think Big. Build Big. | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What does it look like when excellence in STEM education is paired with deep belonging and cultural inclusion. In Season 3, Episode 5 of the Bold By Choice Podcast, we travel to Utah to visit Beehive Science and Technology Academy, a K–12 public charter school proving…

Educational Freedom & Stewardship

By Jim Goenner, Ph.D.In partnership with Bluum | January 2026 Public education is not a program. It’s a civic infrastructure. When it works, it transforms lives, supports families, encourages educators, strengthens communities, and makes Idaho a great place to live, work, and play. Since its founding in 1890, Idaho has long valued freedom and limited…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E4: Hear from Steven Palmer

Human First, Excellent Always A reflection from Steven Palmer When I think about the work we do at Valor Collegiate Academies, I always come back to a simple belief. Students are human first, and they deserve schools that honor their full humanity while holding them to the highest expectations. Joining the Bold By Choice Podcast…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E4: Human First Excellent Always | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What becomes possible when a school begins with a simple conviction. Students are human first, and excellence should always be within reach. Season 3, Episode 4 of the Bold By Choice Podcast takes us to Valor Collegiate Academies in Nashville, Tennessee, a network known for its…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E3: Hear from Dr. Sundai Riggins

Designed with Students A reflection from Dr. Sundai Riggins When people ask what makes Inspired Teaching Demonstration School unique, I often return to a simple truth. Our school is not designed for students. It is designed with them. Every part of our model reflects a belief that children are capable, creative, and ready to lead…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E3: Designed with Students | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What happens when a school is not simply built for students, but designed with them. In Season 3, Episode 3 of the Bold By Choice Podcast, we head to Washington, DC to visit Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, a PK–8 public charter school where student voice, joyful…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E2: Beyond College Prep | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What becomes possible when schools are intentionally designed to bring communities together rather than keep them apart? In Season 3, Episode 2 of the Bold By Choice Podcast, we travel to Rhode Island to explore that question with Sarah Anderson, CEO and Superintendent of Blackstone Valley…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E2: Hear from Sarah Anderson

Beyond College Prep A reflection from Sarah Anderson For most of my career, I have been driven by one question. Who gets access to great schools, and who gets left out? That question is what brought me to Blackstone Valley Prep, and it is what continues to guide our work every day. Serving students from…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E1: Hear from Sonia Park & Ashley Heard

Better Together: Inside the Movement for Intentionally Diverse Schools By Sonia Park & Ashley Heard, Diverse Charter Schools Coalition We were grateful for the opportunity to join Season 3 of the Bold by Choice podcast to discuss a belief that guides our work every day. Schools should reflect the world students live in, and intentionally…

Bold By Choice Podcast | S3 E1: Schools That Reflect the World | Overview

In partnership with the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition Overview What if more schools were intentionally built to look like the world our students are growing into. What if diversity, belonging, and academic excellence served as the foundation of school design rather than separate goals that rarely meet. That vision is at the heart of the…

Thank You to Our Partners!

Excellence is never an accident. It’s the result of people choosing—day after day—to act boldly on behalf of kids. This year, I’ve seen that spirit everywhere: in authorizers raising the bar, boards leaning into their duties, and school leaders refusing to settle for “good enough.” You are the stewards of possibility and the guardians of…

Is Public Education Obsolete?

How Chartering Can Build a Better Future for Students, Educators, and Communities A Tribute to Ted Kolderie at 95 By Jim Goenner, Ph.D. Everything Becomes Obsolete Everything that stops growing and adapting eventually becomes obsolete. Not because it fails, but because the world keeps changing.  The horse did not fail; the car made it unnecessary. Candles did…

Kids Don’t Need a Sector. They Need a Movement.

Movements change what’s possible. Sectors protect what is. By Jim Goenner, Ph.D.Published in CharterFolk | November 2025 I’m grateful to be part of the charter schools movement. We are a group of spirited, strong-willed, opinionated mavericks. We don’t think alike, act alike, or look alike. But we are united by something deeper: a conviction that every child deserves a great education, and the “one best system” is standing in the way…

Kids Don’t Need a Sector. They Need a Movement.

Movements change what’s possible. Sectors protect what is. By Jim Goenner, Ph.D.Published in CharterFolk | November 2025 I’m grateful to be part of the charter schools movement. We are a group of spirited, strong-willed, opinionated mavericks. We don’t think alike, act alike, or look alike. But we are united by something deeper: a conviction that every child deserves a great education, and the “one best system” is standing in the way…

Bold by Choice Podcast | About S2 E5: Chartering the Frontier

About Season 2 Episode 5: Chartering the Frontier Every region has its trailblazers. In the early 1990s, California and Colorado became unlikely frontiers for the charter school movement. Their laws didn’t pass by chance. They were the product of bold leadership, creative coalition-building, and relentless persistence. California’s story is one of speed, innovation, and unlikely…

Bold by Choice Podcast | About S2 E4: Charters Go National

About Season 2 Episode 4: Charters Go National Great ideas rarely succeed on vision alone. They need champions. They need strategy. They need leaders willing to ask bold questions and act when the window opens. That’s exactly what happened when the chartering idea began to move from a spark in Minnesota to a national movement….