podcastED: SUFS president Doug Tuthill interviews Walnut Hill Workshop’s Antonio Parés

On this episode, Tuthill speaks with the founder of a Colorado-based organization that works with public and private education organizations to create new opportunities for students to receive education outside the traditional five-days-a-week, 180 days-a-year schooling model.

 Tuthill and Parés discuss Colorado laws that allow funding to be portable and how state-sponsored schools can serve students not enrolled full time in district or charter schools. They also discuss the empowerment and business opportunities for teachers and members of local communities to create businesses such as specialized tutoring and learning pods when education funding is portable. Both men believe children are always learning, and that society devalues educational opportunities outside of “traditional” schooling.

“I hope people take the opportunity COVID has provided to reflect on the system that we’ve had and think about how its reaction only furthered the inequities many of us had already seen and (begin to) wonder how we smooth those inequities out.”

EPISODE DETAILS:

·       Parés background as a teacher and a disruptor of traditional education models

·       Finding state statues that make education funding portable in Colorado and what can be created in other states

·       How public-private partnerships can break down false dichotomies about education choice, create win-win solutions and lift all boats

·       Small business opportunities for communities and teachers when education funding is portable

·       How COVID-19 has reshaped perceptions around traditional schooling and how the experience will shape education’s future

LINKS MENTIONED:

Prenda – The Neighborhood School Reimagined

MyTech High – Personalized, Customized Education


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BY Special to NextSteps