Bold by Choice Podcast | About S2 E1: The Idea

About Season 2, Episode 1: The Idea

Every movement has a beginning. For chartering, it did not start with national policy, but with a bold idea scribbled on paper, shared in speeches, debated in think tanks, and carried into law by people who believed public education could be more than what it was. 

In this first episode of Season 2 of Bold by Choice Podcast, we go back to the very roots of the charter school movement, exploring the ideas of Ray Budde at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the leadership of American Federation of Teachers President Al Shanker, and the pivotal role of the Citizens League in St. Paul, Minnesota. Alongside our hosts, Vashaunta Harris and Jim Goenner, guests Ember Reichgott Junge and Don Cooper helped us understand not just what happened, but why it mattered. 

Ray Budde may not be a household name, but his early writings carried a seed that grew into something extraordinary. In the mid-1970s, Budde suggested a radical shift: what if control was shifted away from the district central office, and instead teachers were entrusted to run schools within a district under a contract, or charter? For him, reform wasn’t enough. The district system itself needed restructuring. His quiet conviction, his integrity, and his commitment to public education challenged traditional authority and invited a new way of thinking. 

Then came Al Shanker. In 1988, standing at the National Press Club, the AFT president warned that post-A Nation At Risk proposed reforms were failing teachers and missing the bigger picture. He used his platform to introduce an idea into the national conversation: what if teachers had the opportunity to design and lead new, innovative schools within a district? Shanker gave Budde’s concept nation-wide visibility, raising questions about the balance between supporting teachers and reshaping systems that no longer served students well. His speech was a spark, but it was still just an idea, abstract, fragile, and untested. 

That is where the Citizens League stepped in. This nonpartisan group of thinkers and leaders in Minnesota’s capital transformed Shanker’s idea into an actionable policy. Part of this idea was removing the district’s exclusive franchise to educate kids and allow for the chartering of new public schools outside of the traditional district structure. Their proposals offered real steps for making chartering possible, and the League’s credibility was able to attract the legislative support necessary to advance the policy into law. Minnesota’s civic culture, rooted in collaboration, trust, and a willingness to test new ideas, proved fertile ground. From here, the improbable became possible. 

What makes this story so powerful is not just the policy milestones but the leadership lessons they hold. Chartering did not begin as a national agenda. It began with teachers confronting real problems and wanting the ability to try something new. It reminds us that bold change does not always come from the highest office. Sometimes it comes from academics, union leaders, and citizen leagues who are willing to lead differently. 

As Ember and Don reflected, those early years were anything but inevitable. Ideas were laughed at. Laws nearly died in committee. But persistence, coalition-building, and the courage to keep going turned skepticism into a new reality. 

For today’s leaders, the takeaway is clear: systems change is never simple. It requires visionaries who can name what is broken, communities willing to imagine what is possible, and the persistence to move ideas from paper into practice. The charter story is proof that bold ideas can survive laughter, resistance, and political tension and still reshape an entire system. 

The charter idea remind us of our own call to lead boldly today. Just as Budde asked, “What if we did this differently?” and Shanker demanded, “Who will stand with teachers?” We must ask our own bold questions. Every movement begins with someone willing to imagine that the current design is not the only one. 

Because being bold isn’t an accident. It’s a choice.

📚 Explore the Founders Library to read the original documents, speeches, and reports that sparked the charter movement.