Episode 89: Microschools are Everywhere. A Conversation with Meredith Olson.

We name the real barrier in education as the status quo mindset and share how Vela backs nearly 5,000 founders building learner-centered options. Meredith traces her journey from engineering and finance to education, explains the data behind microschool growth, and offers practical steps for parents and educators to lead change.

• Defining the enemy as mindset, not institutions
• Meredith’s path from engineering and economics to education
• Three decades of steady growth in low-cost alternatives
• Pre‑COVID skepticism and the COVID demand shock
• Vela’s microgrants, reinvestments and peer network
• The four founder types and their motivations
• Parent and learner agency as a new paradigm
• Pioneers helping refugees become builders
• Wild and wise as a founder operating principle

About our guest
Meredith is president and CEO of VELA, a network of self-determined people doing education their own way. VELA supports 4,800+ founders who enable low-cost private and home education for millions of families. Meredith brings more than two decades of philanthropy and community leadership to this work. She previously served as vice president of public affairs for Koch, Inc., where she led corporate philanthropy and community programs. Meredith is the board chair of yes. every kid., an organization advancing transformative education policy, and is a trustee of Wichita Collegiate School. 

Connect with Meredith
VELA

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About the podcast
The KindlED Podcast explores the science of nurturing children's potential and creating empowering learning environments.

Powered by Prenda Microschools, each episode offers actionable insights to help you ignite your child's love of learning. We'll dive into evidence-based tools and techniques that kindle young learners' curiosity, motivation, and well-being.

Got a burning question?
We're all ears! If you have a question or topic you'd love our hosts to tackle, please send it to podcast@prenda.com. Let's dive into the conversation together!

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Interested in starting a microschool?
Prenda provides all the tools and support you need to start and run an amazing microschool. Create a free Prenda World account to start designing your future microschool today. More info at ➡️ Prenda.com or if you're ready to get going ➡️ Start My Microschool