LiberatED Podcast The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual Learning with Julie Young
Feb 17, 2026
Julie Young, a virtual learning pioneer who founded Florida Virtual School and led ASU Prep Digital, shares three decades of digital schooling stories. She recounts launching statewide online learning, design principles that worked, contrasts with pandemic Zoom school, who thrives online, and how AI can personalize curriculum and reduce teacher workload.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Design Around The Student
- Florida Virtual School centered every decision on the student and redesigned adult roles around learners' needs.
- That student-first design shifted schedules, pacing, and accountability in ways traditional systems rarely allow.
Pay And Train For Performance
- Hire and pay teachers based on demonstrated fit, not tenure, and invest heavily in training and mentoring.
- Measure teachers by student success and align pay and accountability to outcomes, not hours logged.
Rapid Scaling During COVID
- At ASU Prep Digital, Julie's team scaled from ~800 to 4,000 students within weeks when COVID hit.
- They rapidly integrated brick-and-mortar students into online systems using prior virtual experience.
