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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…

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….

Bold by Choice Podcast | About S2 E3: The First Law

About Season 2 Episode 3: The First Law Behind every bold law is a bolder story. In this episode of Bold by Choice, we step into the moment that changed everything—the birth of the first charter school law. It wasn’t a straight path. It wasn’t inevitable. And it certainly wasn’t easy. But it’s in the…

Bold by Choice Podcast | About S2 E2: Ideas to Action

About Season 2, Episode 2: Ideas to Action “You can’t expect new results from old designs.” Those words capture the essence of Ted Kolderie’s legacy—and the heart of this episode of Bold by Choice Podcast. Kolderie isn’t just another policy thinker. He is a systems designer, a civic leader who challenged us to stop patching…

Supporting Charter School Boards

Improve board onboarding, clarify roles and responsibilities, and monitor board performance as part of your organizational framework. We can help you build systems that reinforce high-quality governance without overstepping your oversight role.

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…

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…

Strategy & Leadership Capacity Building

Whether you’re looking for an external evaluation of your current practices or are new to authorizing and are looking to set up the best systems for your, our team of experienced experts are ready to help. Receive honest, professional, and insightful guidance and resources from experienced authorizers.

Academic, Financial, and Organizational Oversight and Frameworks

We help authorizers develop and implement comprehensive oversight systems and performance frameworks that align with state law and your vision for quality. Ensuring every oversight decision is grounded in data and driven by purpose.

New School & Start-Up Support for Boards

If you are seeking best practices or looking for the policies your school must legally adopt, we have what you need. Our policies and procedures are being used on a daily basis in scores of charter schools. Our material is legally grounded, practically tested and user friendly.

Board Retreats

If you are seeking best practices or looking for the policies your school must legally adopt, we have what you need. Our policies and procedures are being used on a daily basis in scores of charter schools. Our material is legally grounded, practically tested and user friendly.

Board Strategic Planning

If you are seeking best practices or looking for the policies your school must legally adopt, we have what you need. Our policies and procedures are being used on a daily basis in scores of charter schools. Our material is legally grounded, practically tested and user friendly.