Miguel Gonzalez is the founder of Embark education, a micro school embedded in two small businesses (pinwheel coffee and framework cycles)

Brian Sense is the Executive Director Great Work, Inc

Samara is a student at the Embark school.

Microschools vs. traditional schools
Blended grade levels.
16 students enrolled with 7th and 8th grade.
Embark education is an independent school, which allows us to work with kids tuition free!
Founding businesses and profit from businesses would fund the educational experience.
Grants and fundraising.
Kids can make business decisions that may not be in the best interest of the businesses.
Price changes involved in the coffee shop.
How do we pose it to our students,
Samara’s interest in the espresso machine.
Coffee machine does produce 85% of our drinks.
Learning is a strong point for me.
We don’t just focus on educational needs, but also on social emotional needs.
What school is like?
What structures do we want to have?
Miguel’s job is supporting embark and the teachers.
Making the impact on students is just as valuable as getting a bike back to a customer.
When we break down the walls of school…
Every role has a focus, but they also are involved in the other programs.
We also include students in the interview process.
Middle school students know who they want to work around.
Middle schoolers is an important age to focus on the joy of learning.
It’s never about the bikes or the coffee, it’s about student learning.
Middle school is an overlooked time of development.
Kids don’t drop out in high school, they drop out in middle school. They just sign the paperwork and leave in high School.
Knowing where I want to center my learning.
6th grade interviews for new teacher.
There’s very little that you learn in middle school that you don’t already have.
How to be a transformative principal?
Treat them as adults and support them in their youth.
Give many people the ability to realize their self-worth and lead others.
Listen humbly.

Today’s Transformative Principal sponsor, John Catt Educational, amplifies world-class voices on timeless topics, with a list of authors recognized globally for their fresh perspectives and proven strategies to drive success in modern schools and classrooms.

John Catt’s mission is to support high-quality teaching and learning by ensuring every educator has access to professional development materials that are research-based, practical, and focused on the key topics proven essential in today’s and tomorrow’s schools.

Learn more about professional development publications that are easy to implement for your entire faculty, and are both quickly digestible and rigorous, by visiting https://us.johncattbookshop.com/. Learn more about some of the newest titles:

John Catt is also proud publisher of the new book from Transformative Principal host Jethro Jones: SchoolX: How principals can design a transformative school experience for students, teachers, parents – and themselves Visit this page to learn more about bulk orders and how to bring John Catt’s research-based materials to your school: https://us.johncattbookshop.com/pages/agents-and-distributors

Learn more about today's sponsors, Playworks, IXL, and Renaissance Learning:

As a global leader in education technology operating in more than 110 countries, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student. Learn more at renaissance.com.

We’re proud to be sponsored by Playworks, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with evidence-based practices that help schools improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play.

If you’re a school or district leader struggling with the challenge of chronic absenteeism, as so many are across the U.S., you may not realize that structured recess is a research-backed approach to keep kids in school. In fact, a UC Berkeley study of Title I schools found that those partnering with Playworks had significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates. Further, Mathematica research demonstrated that Playworks schools spent 27% less time transitioning from recess back to learning, saving teachers valuable instructional time.

These results are possible for your students, too. Learn how Playworks can help you improve student-educator relationships, belonging, and attendance by signing up for a quick no-obligation conversation.

We’re also thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

Simplify and streamline technology
Save teachers’ time
Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.

[FULL EPISODE] Marquise Brown to KC, Jerry Jeudy Charting & New Falcons WR Room