A Podcast Everyone Founding, or Thinking About Founding a School Should be Listening To

No, it’s not Serial. There is no unsolved mystery, cliff-hangers, or conspiracy theories. What there is in the podcast, Start Up, is the story of someone following their passion to start a small business from scratch, which is basically what it means to found your own school. The podcast follows radio producer Alex Blumberg (This American Life, Planet Money) as he sets out to create an independent podcasting company. The show is up to ten episodes and I find pretty much each one fascinating, especially because of all the parallels between what Blumberg goes through as he gets his start up off the ground and what I did in 2010 when I founded KPEA (and still do in many ways). A short list of the connections includes:

• How difficult it is to move from being good at something (teaching/producing radio shows) to creating an organization where you lead others to do that. 
• Thinking of a name and how you drive yourself nuts trying to come up with one that is “perfect”, only to have others think it’s awful! 
• What happens when you are obsessed with starting something and the stress that puts on those around you. If you’re like Blumberg and me, you’re lucky to have a partner who is incredibly supportive, but even with that support it's in no way easy. 
• Coming up with a good “elevator pitch”. You can have a general idea of what you want your school/business to be like and you can explain it in 10 min, but how can you boil it down to 30 seconds that excite a potential supporter?
• The challenge of getting feedback from others while staying true to your core concept/values. You hear a great idea from someone else that you hadn’t originally thought of – do you change your plans to include this idea? Or would that distract you from your core idea?
• Recruiting and investing talent in your organization when nothing exists yet of what you hope they are signing up for.   
• Learning on the job and dealing with mistakes, because you will make them.
• Doubt. So much doubt.

Seriously you should listen to this - for two reasons. First, even though the context for starting a podcast company is different than starting a school, the big ideas, many detail, and most importantly, the emotional roller coaster rang very true to my experience as a KIPP founder so if you listen to this and it seems insane that someone would want to do this, you might want to rethink your plans. Secondly, it's reassuring to know that there are crazy and successful people out there in all different fields following their dreams and pulling it off. Helps with that last bullet point above. 

Some thoughts on budget cuts and school choice

Normal disclaimer that this is my personal blog and I don't speak for KIPP Philadelphia. And yes, I know it's been over a year since my last post. Two boys under 4 and a busy job will do that to you. Onward...


I believe in school choice. I think all parents should have multiple quality choices about where to send their children to school. As a parent of two young sons, I want to have the option to send my sons to the charter elementary school I run, the local district elementary school that is practically in our backyard, or a number of other good options. Unlike most parents in Philadelphia, I’m lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where the local district school is one that sends lots of students to selective district programs and has a good reputation in our neighborhood. While I have not yet visited, I have no doubt it is a place full of dedicated, talented teachers who I would love to teach my boys.

But with the incredible financial hardship of the last few years, district schools have lost invaluable programs, staff, and supplies, making even the best schools retreat into survival mode where simply maintaining some basic level of education is the best that can be hoped for. Drastic budget cuts means absurdly large class sizes, no art or music education, and teachers scrounging for even the most rudimentary supplies. I don’t want to send my children to a school like that and neither should any parent. For too many families they have no choice but to send their child to a school decimated by these budget cuts.  

As a principal of a charter school, I believe deeply in the promise of charter schools to provide families more choice and more great schools. Since charter schools are free and must serve all students, (I know not all do) this choice is open to everyone, not just those with enough money to live in the best neighborhoods or to pay for private school. While some charter schools in Philadelphia haven’t lived up to this promise, there are many that are doing a great job educating students in ways that anyone in Philadelphia would be proud to send their own child there.

At the same time, there is no substantive choice in education in Philadelphia without strong schools in the district. We need more great schools in Philadelphia, not less, and right now the massive budget cuts in the district are creating fewer great schools. No matter where you stand on the debates about charters, unions, the SRC, or any other hot button issue, what is happening in the district has to make you furious. As both a parent and someone who cares about the city I live in, I hope that the school district gets the substantial infusion of money it needs to do great things for kids. Right now, they don’t and that lack of choice hurts everyone in Philadelphia.