What If School Worked For Kids Again. A Conversation with Mickey Revenaugh.

We talk with Mickey Revenaugh, co-founder of Connections Academy and author of Schools Out, about why families are walking away from one-size-fits-all schooling. We dig into microschools, homeschooling, unschooling, and what a future “portfolio” of education options could mean for kids’ learning and mental health.

• the origin story of Connections Academy and what early online learning got right and wrong
• what “unconventional education” includes and why the label “alternative” misses the point
• how families mix models over time rather than choosing one path for 13 years
• why many kids learn resilience and self-direction faster in multi-age environments
• shifting demographics in homeschooling and why old stereotypes no longer fit
• how the pandemic and culture-war pressures accelerate demand for flexible options
• why some districts are piloting microschools to respond to declining enrollment
• roadschooling and worldschooling as a lifestyle built on remote work and online tools
• unschooling basics, de-schooling, and the role of community support for parents
• a bold prediction that unconventional education reaches close to half of kids at some point

About our guest
Mickey Revenaugh is an education innovator, thought-leader and journalist. She is the co-founder of Connections Academy, a ground-breaking K-12 online school provider that launched in 2001 and now serves more than 110,000 virtual school students around the world as part of Pearson. Prior to her retirement at the end of 2022, Mickey’s work focused on bringing emerging education opportunities such as Harrow School Online and Pearson Online Academy to families around the globe. Previously, Mickey helped launch the E-rate to wire every American school to the Internet, covered edtech and online learning for leading education publications, and was the editorial director of professional magazines at Scholastic. Mickey currently serves as Board Chair of Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, winner of the $10M prize for innovative school design from XQ Institute, and also chairs the non-profit boards of Yellow Arrow Publishing and the Barbara J. Dreyer Cares Foundation.

Mickey earned a dual-genre MFA from Bennington College in 2017, and her creative nonfiction and fiction work has since appeared in publications as diverse as Chautauqua, LA Review of Books, and VICE. Mickey also holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from New York University.

Connect with Mickey
Mickey Revenaugh
School's Out: Why Families Are Choosing Unconventional Education
Connections Academy

About the podcast
The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.

Powered by Prenda Microschools, 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 young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.

Got a burning question?
We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to podcast@prenda.com. Let's dive into the conversation together!

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