In this episode of the Changemaker Edu Podcast, host David K. Richards sits down with Mickey Revenaugh, education innovator, EdTech pioneer, and author of School’s Out: Why Families Are Choosing Unconventional Education. Together, they explore the shift away from traditional schooling and dive into the rapidly growing ecosystem of microschools, hybrid homeschooling, virtual learning, and personalized education.

Mickey shares insights from her decades in educational technology—from editing tech magazines at Scholastic and launching the E-Rate program to co-founding Connections Academy. The discussion highlights how pandemic-era learning accelerated family demand for flexibility and choice, how AI is empowering educators to build custom curricula, and how school districts can adapt by embracing autonomous microschool models.

Key Takeaways & Highlights

• Defining Unconventional Education: How the spectrum of learning models—from multi-generational homeschooling to microschools and niche virtual programs—has evolved into a mainstream movement.
• The Post-Pandemic Catalyst: Why experiencing learning outside the classroom gave parents firsthand evidence of their children’s unique learning needs, making non-traditional options socially acceptable and widely sought-after.
• The "Food Truck" Metaphor for Microschools: Why microschools shouldn't all try to become large-scale "franchises" or "McDonald’s," but rather thrive as unique, community-tailored learning hubs supported by strong local ecosystems.
• The Evolution of Homeschooling & "Switching": Recent research from Johns Hopkins University showing how modern families curate ala-carte, personalized educational journeys rather than sticking to a single model throughout a child's K-12 experience.
• District Microschool Innovations: How forward-thinking public school districts (such as Polk County, Florida, and collaborative networks in Indiana) are creating their own microschools and autonomous options to retain students.
• AI as a Curriculum Equalizer: How artificial intelligence allows passionate educators to design, mix, match, and personalize high-quality multi-age curricula in weeks rather than years.

Mickey Revenaugh is co-founder of Connections Academy, the pioneering online school provider launched in Baltimore in 2001 and now serving students around the world as part of Pearson. Previously, she helped start the E-rate program to wire every American school to the Internet and was longtime edtech editor at Scholastic. Mickey is an advisor to multiple global edtech companies and serves on the boards of Pearson Online Academy, Yellow Arrow Publishing, and the National Standards of Quality for Online Learning. Her book, School’s Out: Why Families Are Choosing Unconventional Education, is out now from Johns Hopkins University Press.

Website: www.mickeyrevenaugh.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrevenaugh/
Instagram/Facebook: @mickeyrevenaugh_schoolsout
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mickeyrevenaugh

You can buy SCHOOL'S OUT from Johns Hopkins University Press (https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/54028/schools-out), Amazon (https://a.co/d/0aOm2rNq) or wherever you shop for books.

This week, David sat down with Michael Horn, an award-winning author of several books, including the national bestseller, Job Moves: 9 Steps for Making Progress in Your Career; teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and co-founded the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a non-profit think tank. He strives to create a world in which all individuals can build their passions, fulfill their potential, and live a life of meaning through his writing, speaking, and work with a portfolio of education organizations.

Michael is also the author of From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)creating School for Every Child; Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns; Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools; Choosing College; and Goodnight Box, a children’s story. He cohosts the top education podcasts Future U and Class Disrupted and writes the Substack newsletter The Future of Education. Michael also serves as an executive editor at Education Next, is a contributor to Forbes, and his work has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and NBC. His 2024 Harvard Business Review article, “Why Employees Quit,” won the 2025 Warren Bennis award for the best HBR article on leadership. Michael serves on the board and advisory boards of a range of education organizations, including Imagine Worldwide and Minerva University.

He was selected as a 2014 Eisenhower Fellow to study innovation in education in Vietnam and Korea. Michael holds a BA in history from Yale University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Episode Overview

In this episode, we sit down with education thought leader and "intellectual entertainer" Michael Horn, co-author of Disrupting Class and co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute. Together, we dive deep into the rapidly growing microschool movement, the evolution of personalized learning, and how new technologies like AI are shaping the future of K–12 education.

Michael shares his unique perspective on the balance between innovation and regulation, the impact of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), and why small-scale, community-driven education models might just be the ultimate answer to student engagement and success.

Key Takeaways & Highlights

• The Rise of Microschools: Why right now is the best time in decades to be an education entrepreneur.
• Regulation vs. Innovation: Navigating the fine line between policy oversight, accountability, and preserving the freedom that makes small learning communities thrive.
• The "Navigation Layer" for Families: The growing need to help parents curate personalized educational journeys from an increasing menu of options.
• AI as an Assessment Tool: How artificial intelligence can act as a supportive "listening agent" to evaluate skill mastery, grit, and critical thinking in real time—without heavy-handed testing.
• Screen Time & Balanced Models: Exploring the healthy tension between AI-driven, high-tech learning and tech-free, nature- or farm-based microschools.
• Education Savings Accounts (ESAs): How unlocking public funding for families creates a disruptive, consumer-driven market while giving low- and middle-income families better access to tailored education.

Connect with Michael Horn

• Substack: Future of Education
• Website: michaelbhorn.com
• Podcast: Class Disrupted (Co-hosted with Diane Tavenner)
• Social Media: Connect on X/Twitter or LinkedIn @MichaelBHorn

A year ago, Changemaker Education was still transforming its vision into a working model. Today, Joy Meserve and David K. Richards are supporting founders across more than 20 states, and learning alongside them every day.

In this candid conversation, Joy and David share what they now understand about becoming a successful microschool founder. They explore why educators already possess many of the skills required to become entrepreneurs, what early signs suggest that a founder can succeed, and why building trust with families takes more time and persistence than many people expect.

They also discuss Changemaker’s evolving Founder Success System, its new lean launch approach, the importance of community and operational support, and why founders need both sovereignty and coachability. The conversation expands into Changemaker’s Mind, Body, Soul philosophy and why preserving distinctly human capacities will become even more important in an AI powered world.

This episode is for educators, parents and community leaders who feel called to build something different for young people, even if they don’t yet feel completely ready.

Short description

Who can become a microschool founder—and what does it really take to succeed? Joy Meserve and David K. Richards share what they’ve learned from supporting real founders across the country, from entrepreneurial mindset and enrollment realities to operational support, founder community and the freedom to build a locally responsive school.

Key topics covered

• What has changed during Changemaker Education’s second year
• Who is capable of becoming a microschool founder
• Why educators already possess entrepreneurial skills
• Curiosity, grit, adaptability and generosity of spirit
• Early indicators of founder readiness
• Why social proof and family trust take time to build
• How founders grow into new capabilities
• Founder examples from St. Louis, Florida and Cincinnati
• The role of Mind, Body, Soul in founder and student development
• Preserving humanity in an AI powered world
• How Changemaker saves founders hundreds of operational hours
• The difference between an affiliate network and a “school in a box”
• Why school leadership should not be undertaken alone
• How aspiring founders can begin exploring their vision

Suggested chapters

• 00:00 — Welcome and why we’re revisiting the conversation
• 00:50 — What has changed during Changemaker’s second year
• 03:45 — A growing, co-created founder ecosystem
• 05:25 — What David’s beliefs about founders have taught him
• 09:50 — Who is capable of becoming a microschool founder?
• 11:35 — The entrepreneurial abilities educators already possess
• 13:57 — Early signs of founder readiness—and potential warning signs
• 15:20 — The underestimated work of earning family trust
• 19:31 — Why Changemaker now recommends a lean launch
• 20:15 — Real founders discovering their entrepreneurial identity
• 23:05 — Creativity, community partnerships and founder cross-pollination
• 24:43 — Changemaker’s Mind, Body, Soul foundation
• 29:40 — Why we cannot outsource our humanity to AI
• 32:30 — Microschools as a new educational operating system
• 34:42 — What founders often miss operationally
• 35:25 — Saving founders hundreds of hours
• 38:15 — Giving visionaries the integrator support they need
• 40:45 — Why Changemaker is not a “school in a box”
• 41:25 — What David wishes he had when opening schools
• 44:05 — Why founders shouldn’t build alone
• 45:50 — Finding a deeply values-aligned community
• 46:20 — The search for Changemaker’s next 75 founders
• 47:40 — Ways to take the first step