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A Quick Note to Listeners:
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Before this week’s interview, Jen Schwanke and Will Parker answer a listener question with a five minute response.
The question is: How do you maintain a sense of autonomy when so many external management decisions impact your role and school environment?
Listen in to hear their response and thank you for doing what matters!
Meet Tanya Scheckley:
Tanya Sheckley is an Edupreneur, Founder of UP Academy, and Co-Founder of Project UP. UP Academy is a non-traditional elementary school which values respect, innovation, empathy and strength. Project UP brings a fully integrated Literacy and project based learning curriculum for K-5 schools as well as building a community of founders and leaders.
Tanya’s vision and mission show it’s possible to celebrate differences, change what’s broken in the American education system, and that all children can receive a rigorous, well rounded education. She is 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 founders and leaders to launch innovative school models, question the status quo, and develop engaging student experiences through inclusion and project based learning.
From Dr. Jen Schwanke:
I reached out to Tanya Sheckley after seeing a post she wrote about turning 50. These days, I’m drawn to the story of a female educational leader who is in her fifties because… well, because I’m always looking for people who are on the same walk I am on. Aren’t we all?
Tanya’s path to education was unconventional. She started in sales for consumer packaged goods before deciding to open a school. Her inspiration came from her oldest daughter, who has cerebral palsy. Tanya and her husband wanted to find a school that could provide their daughter with the academic rigor she needed, as well as the therapy and independence she deserved.
Tanya’s school focuses on meeting each student at the right level of challenge at the right time. They use interactive, project-based work that is both relevant and interesting to their students. Classes are small, and students are often in cohorts within their own class, with a small group, or with students in another class, depending on their specific learning needs.
Not long ago, Tanya wrote a book titled, Rebel Educator: Create Classrooms Where Impact and Imagination Meet. The decision to write a book “snuck up” on Tanya, and the finished product capitalizes on the unique perspective of someone who wasn’t formally trained as an educator but who now is running her own school. In the book, she discusses how constraints in policy, procedure, history, and expectations can be stifling for students and how a fresh mind and a willingness to rebel against them can be beneficial.
As this episode wraps up, Tanya and I reflect on being a woman in leadership, how age plays into confidence and decision-making, and how we still have a lot to give as we age.
Connect with Tanya:
- Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheckley/
- Website: https://www.rebeleducator.com/ and https://tanyasheckley.com/
- Podcasts: https://www.rebeleducator.com/p/PODCAST
