171. Creating What Our Kids Need with Tanya Sheckley

Education Evolution

English - July 18, 2023 08:00 - 39 minutes - 55 MB
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Previous Episode: 170. Making Room for Financial Literacy with Brian Curcio

Next Episode: 172. Aligning Board Behaviors with Student Outcomes with AJ Crabill

You don’t have to be an educator to make an impact in education. Sometimes it’s a concerned parent, looking for what’s best for their own child who can make the biggest impact. And the more parents like this week’s guest, Tanya Sheckley, take action, the faster we’ll have educational systems and support for all our youth.

When Tanya’s daughter needed additional support at school, but the school could only offer a modified curriculum rather than a full inclusion model, Tanya knew that she needed to do something different.

That’s when UP Academy was born and Tanya began advocating for educational change.

On this week’s episode, Tanya and I talk about how to create more inclusion in schools, why modifications should be available for everyone (not just those with IEPs and 504 plans), what real-life experiences look like in practice, and what others can do to take us out of the status quo.

This is an inspirational interview that will have you thinking about what you can do in your own community. The answer is: a lot!

About Tanya Sheckley:

Tanya Sheckley is founder and president of UP Academy, an elementary lab school which values innovation, empathy, and strength and incorporates a unique neuro-development program for children with physical disabilities. Tanya’s vision and mission show it’s possible to celebrate differences, challenge what’s broken in the American education system, and that all children can receive a rigorous, well-rounded education. She is an edupreneur, author of Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms of Imagination and Impact, and host of the Rebel Educator podcast. She speaks frequently on the future of education and entrepreneurship. She is a rebel educator who works with new and existing schools to question the status quo and develop innovative student experiences through inclusion and project-based learning.

Jump in the Conversation:

[1:50] - Where Tanya’s story of school transformation began

[4:24] - Goal was to create a methodology and prove it was possible, then make it available to others

[5:44] - Creating universal accommodation

[10:42] - Project based learning at UP Academy

[15:15] - Creating Real experience in the world to create self confidence

[15:39] - How learners explore STEAM and innovation

[18:46] - Where impact and imagination meet

[21:27] - Make sure we’re pausing and asking the people who are involved what they want

[22:27] - Launching a middle school in fall 2023

[23:20] - Creating core framework and philosophy to support other school founders

[25:28] - What others can do to take us out of the status quo