Community Crafted Education
The landscape of hybrid and microschools in various forms – what we will call “community crafted education” – has grown substantially in recent years. On this podcast we will talk about the downstream effects of school choice and especially community crafted education models. How are all of these entrepreneurial opportunities, policy developments, new schools, and new educational experiences improving society? This is probably the most exciting time in education entrepreneurship and policy in the past 30 years. To explore these developments, host Eric Wearne, Director of the National Hybrid Schools Project, talks with people who are mostly not a part of the school choice world, about how these new options are affecting or could potentially affect their various fields.
Listen on:
Episodes
May 19, 2026
May 19, 2026
24 min
Gerard Robinson, Professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the School of Law at UVA, provides the keynote address at the 2026 National Hybrid Schools Conference: "Hybrid Schooling: Why it Matters to Families, Educators, and the State."
May 12, 2026
May 12, 2026
31 min
Coi Marie Morefield, Entrepreneur in Residence at the Beacon Center and Partner for Ecosystems at Education Reimagined, provides the opening keynote at the 2026 National Hybrid Schools Conference: "Here I Stand: A Radical Vision for a Learner-Centered Future."
Mar 17, 2026
Mar 17, 2026
27 min
Darren Lawson, Owner of Paradox Communication and longtime stage director and college dean, joins Eric to talk about visual and performing arts in community crafted schools.
Mar 3, 2026
Mar 3, 2026
33 min
Adam Foster (Associate Pastor) and Bethany Lee (Homeschool Academy Director) from Fellowship Church in Greenwood, Missouri, join Eric to talk about churches as sponsors and hosts of community-crafted schools.
Feb 10, 2026
Feb 10, 2026
35 min
James Shuls from Florida State University joins Eric to discuss common schooling and civics education.
Feb 3, 2026
Feb 3, 2026
35 min
David Hunt from the Aristotle Foundation joins Eric to talk about the status of and prospects for community crafted education in Canada.
Dec 23, 2025
Dec 23, 2025
24 min
Shoshana Weissmann from the Abundance Institute joins Eric to discuss barriers to startups that don't fit into existing categories.
Dec 16, 2025
Dec 16, 2025
48 min
Peter Gray, a psychology professor at Boston College, joins Eric to discuss self-directed and play-based learning.
Dec 2, 2025
Dec 2, 2025
31 min
Matthew Sanders, founder and CEO of Longbeard, joins Eric to talk about current and future developments in AI, and their implications for schooling.
Nov 25, 2025
Nov 25, 2025
30 min
Shiren Rattigan, founder of Colossal Academies, joins Eric to discuss education entrepreneurship as a means of building a legacy and wealth.