Reinventing High School: Entrepreneurship & Personalized Learning in Utah

0:00I'm Carrie McDonald, and this is Deliberated Podcast. Cory Henwood, welcome to Deliberated Podcast. Oh, thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. It's great to have you here. We were connected by an education entrepreneur, a microscope founder that I know in the St. George, Utah area. And she said, Carrie, you have to interview Cory. He's doing some really great things with some great organizations throughout the state of Utah. So I'm thrilled to have you on the podcast. And would love for you to share with us, Cory, sort of your trajectory from public school math teacher kind of earlier in your career to in-district innovation leader and education entrepreneur. Yeah, no, happy to. It has been a wonderful journey. And each phase of it has been shown me new roads

1:01and new opportunities, starting as a math teacher primarily because I wanted to help children to navigate a difficult subject that I was able to do with math instruction. And throughout, I guess, my entire career, it's always been about empowering students and their families to try to get what each of them want out of education. And so that started with math and maybe a pre-neural scope. It led me towards helping to be a coach and eventually a principal at a private school, where I was doing that, and maybe a more holistic setting for parents who were looking for larger changes and larger opportunities for their student than just narrowly in academics. And brought me to doing some innovative things at the county office or district level where I'm at in Utah to try to provide innovative opportunities for families. And do that in all sorts of settings in both public district settings as well as charter settings

2:04that I've been able to advise several schools on. So it's really been an awesome journey for me because each phase of it has led me to find different ways and more unique ways to customize and to empower families with what they really want. Amazing. And so you are currently the innovation coordinator at Iron County School District in Utah. So it's sort of this in-district innovation role. Tell us a little bit about that. What does that job entail? And what sort of innovations are you most excited about now? Yeah, while there is so much going on in the educational technology space, that's certainly part of my job is helping to evaluate educational technology, including artificial intelligence and other opportunities for schools to take advantage of. Again, with the same goal of deeply personalizing or customizing education for students and for families. But I would say more of my day-to-day role

3:05is helping to manage magnet school programs and other magnet schools within the district that are classified, I guess, as innovative programs. So that's online schools or launch high school, which is a school for aspiring entrepreneurs, those who want to launch their own businesses. It's something that I founded in 2020 and it's been a great success story in Iron District. Okay, I want to talk more about that program that you helped to launch. But first, for those who may not be familiar with what a magnet school is, maybe you could give us a quick overview of that and kind of how magnet schools interact in school districts more broadly. Yeah, so unlike a battery school where you're signed by boundary, these are schools of choice where families apply for a particular program. So, for example, at launch high school, there's a lottery that students apply from multiple boundary schools to come to launch high school, which serves 200 students a year.

4:07And so they're owned by the school district, they're not necessarily charter schools or private entities, but they are, in essence, act in somewhat some more ways that they're schools of choice for families. Okay, great. And so then, what about this launch school that you were instrumental in creating? Tell us more about that. Yeah, well, it was an opportunity that we saw through the state of Utah offered a series of grants, both initially exploratory and then into planning implementation grants for more personalized learning, competency-based progression, project-based learning, a series of different things. And so through exploring different models throughout the country came back and had serious conversations with our superintendent about what we might offer in Iron County. And launch was the child of those discussions.

5:07So it was an interesting time to open a school. We had applied for planning grant in 2018, planned for a couple of years and planned to open the school in August of 2020, which we did. But it was a tricky year to open a school. But it's been the most successful school in Iron District by in terms of academic measures, which was not really the purpose of the school. And in fact, I was quite ready for it to do poor academically as long as the outcomes around more durable skills and essential skills, like communication and creativity and others were flourishing. But it has led students to be excellent in their academics as well as do some wonderful things in the world of creation and design and starting businesses and the like. So yeah, can you tell us a little bit more about the structure of launch high school? How many students are you serving? What is the typical week like? I know it's very kind of personalized competency-based

6:10you mentioned, integrating design thinking and entrepreneurship. But what does that look like in practice sort of day to day? Yeah, students come in in the morning, they meet with their advisor, who's there to look out for them in all ways. But certainly in terms of advising their project that they take on over a course of at least a quarter, maybe a whole year, depending on the project scope. And so students meet with them every day at the beginning of the day, set goals for the day and then check in with them at the end of the day on those goals and their progress. And throughout the rest of the day, they have check in times of some of their academic teachers based on their needs. In some cases, they don't need any academic time with their teacher. They're able to do their curriculum online, move ahead of their pace, go to the testing center when they're ready to demonstrate their covenant in a particular academic area. And then spend the rest of their time working on their business, their ideas, their designs, their projects and some of them lead towards, you know,

7:11for profit businesses, others towards a nonprofit organizations and other cases just helping and working alongside local businesses and community organizations. So that's kind of what their day looks like. It's a wonderful opportunity for students. Most of them are there for one day out of two in their school week. So they're there for a day doing their course subjects and then they go to their boundary high school for their more elective classes, you know, to take advantage of the wood shop or the gymnasium that's at their boundary school. So those are the types of things that it looks like for most schools. So are they, so are these students getting then a diploma from launch high school or from their kind of zoned high school? Yeah, they get it from launch high school. Launch high schools, their school membership. Their school membership. And how many students? 200, 200 students. Incredible. Yeah, and it could take more. There's just a women on the space, actually, has kind of been the trouble is that we just have women in space there for that program.

8:13And so there's always a lottery and a wait list for the program. And launch high school is also operating structurally as a magnet school for the district. Correct. Yeah, you got it. It's so great. So what is attracting students to launch high school? Obviously 2020, I imagine there were different attractions than now, but maybe some things have stayed the same. What is sort of the typical student that's attracted to this alternative program? I think it's a student and I just got done speaking with eighth graders kind of talking through what their options are for next year. And a lot of the students that are interested in launch want a higher level of independence, flexibility, and freedom and how they schedule their day. Again, to the same through line, if you will, of empowering students, that's part of why this program, at least for me, has been created that we want to empower students to take control over what they do with their education, including their day-to-day schedule

9:14and what that looks like. So a lot of them that's appealing for them, the other piece that's appealing for them is the opportunity to advance when they're ready, potentially graduate early, take on college classes, or start, we even start their own business a little bit early. And then lastly is the integration of their interests with projects that take roughly half their time and they're associated with half of their grade for all their core classes. These projects that will end in their business ideas are creative passions. So those are the types of students that come. And it's a variety of interests, right? You have students who are into the arts and theater productions and others who want to build out some new technical tool to sell or to scale. And so a variety of interests, but largely the motives are the same. Independence, freedom, flexibility, and to take on something they're passionate about. Yeah, so independence, freedom, flexibility, kind of passion-driven learning. And yet you said that Launch High School

10:16has some of the best academic outcomes in the district. What do you attribute that to? Yeah, and not just sort of their way ahead too, like 40% ahead of date averages and 15% to 20% ahead of the rest of the district averages. I think the biggest piece there is actually the competency-based model of the school taking few topics that are high-leveraged topics in each of the courses that a student takes and focusing directly on those and that students are competent in those, not just sort of proficient or could maybe pass, but they have to score at least an 80% or higher on these types of competency-based exams in each of the areas that we've identified as critical. And so that's how they move on. There's roughly four of those in every course and every quarter of every course that they take on. So when they pass those pieces, that's when they move on and not until.

11:17And some cases students are able to demonstrate competency really quickly and others that takes them a little longer than a quarter to show that they're competent in the material. But again, that solid foundation allows them to really understand their academics and I'm guessing that's what leads into score well when they are leveraging that knowledge on a standardized test, for example. Which again, probably the least of my concern personally, I was not that concerned about standardized test scores and remain that way to date. It's just a nice byproduct of the model. Yeah, it's a byproduct of the model. I think that that such a crucial point is that when we create really innovative, personalized, in this case competency-based learning models, it can and often does lead to significant academic outcomes because students are so engaged in their learning and so motivated by the content that they're working with. And you are for five years, five and a half years

12:18into launch high school. So you have some graduates, I presume. You mentioned some go on to start their own businesses. What are some of the profiles of your alumni? Yeah, it's widely varied because of who we attract, like I said, is less about this isn't an art school or a tech school or whatever, it's a variety of folks who go in lots of different directions. So we do have a lot of business owners that have left and created their own business and most of us have begun the roots of that or started their business at launch. And many of our students who've left have also gone on to further studies at University of Technical College and others to the Army. I mean, it's really a variety of places just like you'd expect from probably any school, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, so we'll shift in just a minute to talk about some of the work you're doing out of district with innovative learning models but sticking with in-district innovation. And again, you're talking about

13:20launch high school, which is a magnet school, which is a tuition-free public school run by the district that students can apply to be a part of. And in Utah, specifically, there's just abundant choice now, particularly with the recent passage of universal school choice programs that enable every K to 12 student to be eligible for an education savings account scholarship program that enables them to use funds toward any kind of private education option, including unbundled options where they're able to kind of piece together an educational plan. And then some charter schools and other options throughout Utah from the district's perspective and some of your work innovating within the district, how do you think school districts can respond to this abundant choice

14:21that's appearing outside of district schools? And sort of what are some of the, it seems like you're already doing that, right? And your role in particular is leading innovation in district. So clearly, you know, the sort of cutting edge of this topic, but, you know, how can and how do you see districts meeting this moment when there is so much more competition and so much more choice for families? Yeah, while the options for districts are really endless, the limits are generally in the people and the board. And if they want to adopt those types of options, is what I found. And you'll see that when I talk about what Charter's doing because they have the same options. It's just a matter of usually a little bit more nimble and flexible and are set up in a way that's meant to be those types of alternative programs for students where districts have the same options. They don't always take advantage of them, but there are some interesting things happening.

15:22And since the start of this type of personalizing competency-based grant movement in Utah, launch was one of the first schools to open exclusively to serve that type of option. But since then, I've filled it many, many, I don't know how many, but several visitors who've come through launch to tour it to build their own model in their own district. And at this point, there's a good dozen of those throughout the state of Utah now that have been built out who serve those types of students exclusively. In addition to all the work that districts are doing within their traditional schools to try to lean towards more personalization, but schools that are specifically geared for this are growing as well within the public sector, which is a neat thing. So what would be sort of the first recommendation you would give to an entrepreneurial educator

16:25working within a school district, wanting to make change from within? Is it kind of bored by in? Is that the first step? Is it colleague commitment? What where do you begin as sort of an entrepreneur, educator working within a conventional school district? Yeah, well, you take what you have control over and you try to do the best you can with that. And in some cases, like me, I was lucky to have a large amount of control and opportunity to work within, but honestly, like it was a lot of luck and good timing for things to just happen the way they did. When you can imagine, when you're dealing with a series of other directors and superintendents, that they all need to be on the same page and then you need to be on the same page with the board and with the public.

17:26By the time you convince the 15th person to do the thing that you want to do, you generally need to go back and recommence the first person on questions in the middle. So it's a very tricky process to do things large at scale like what we've been able to do with some of the programs like Wanch High School. And honestly, had we waited even a little bit, COVID would have totally collapsed that entire process. I don't know if we would have gotten that off the ground if it hadn't have already had such legs by the time that the pandemic hit. And so it's just a matter, in some cases, a matter of timing, but when you have control over what you can control, for example, it could just be your classroom that you wanna do in an innovative way. I support teachers with a project called the Modern Classrooms Project where it's teaching them and giving them the tools and resources to be able to use this same type of model within their classroom walls, which that's a great place to start. But most teachers have the autonomy within their own classroom walls to be able to do something unique and different.

18:28But it is, it can be off-putting when you run into a series of roadblocks on your way to innovation. And in some cases, that's easier outside the system, but obviously it can be rewarding inside the system as well, so. Yeah, and it seems to me that maybe those roadblocks are becoming fewer and far between now because of increased competition and choice, particularly in states like Utah, then maybe they were previously, right? That to me, it seems like there may be more opportunities for educators inside districts to have their ideas heard and appreciated and executed today than previous years. Is that your sense as well? Yeah, I mean, you would hope so because the roadblocks through legislation and board rule are really minimal. There are not many things that are keeping districts

19:29and schools from doing what many innovators would like to see done. And in fact, there's usually incentives to do those things, grants and other things. The difficulty is often in dealing with the people administrators making sure everybody is on the same page. And when you're moving at a speed of a large district, sometimes that can become person. And so that's usually, I don't think there's many roadblocks for people outside of people themselves and trying to get everybody together and on the same page. But if you can do that effectively, then you're on it well in your way. Now, you have a really interesting perch, Corey, as someone who's working within district innovation, but also is helping out of district innovation through emerging charter school networks in Utah. I wonder if you could talk about your out of district innovative work. Yeah, well, I've been lucky enough to be able to consult with several charter schools

20:32and those who are doing innovative work. Those who've wanted to mirror maybe some of the work that we've done at lunch high school or in Ireland line. And the most exciting one of those opportunities is one that's emerging right now. And that's at custom class. That's a space where students and families really drive what happens with their student and receive funding and opportunities to meet up with other like-minded families to kind of connect the dots from where they are now to where they would like their children's education to be. So that's a new and cool opportunity that I'm lucky to be part of. Yeah, so again, in terms of definitions, charter schools are also tuition-free public schools, but they're typically privately run usually by a nonprofit organization. And unlike magnet schools, charter schools are not run by the district. Typically, they are usually run

21:33kind of outside or independent of the district. And so with custom class, how does that work? What is the vision for custom class throughout Utah? Yeah, custom class is meant to make customized learning much more convenient and accessible for families. The type of cafeteria approach that most families want for their child, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, can we help pay for this? Can we do that? It's just unavailable and tough to scale for most districts in other schools, whereas this particular model is set up to do just that. And so it can take the form of, it's kind of a cross between an ESA program, a charter school, and so that you're helping to fund the things that families want. Well, providing more opportunities than any ESA really could in terms of building to meet up and meet in regular classes in terms of being able to access a network of support

22:35for, you know, if you ever have talked to somebody or have done this yourself, trying to navigate an ESA, it's difficult to be informed on all the options and make the right choices for your child most are overwhelmed with those pieces. And so getting the help and guidance that can come from community liaisons and advisors that work at custom class is a really valuable service that they provide as well. So it's a unique thing. And it's not just for those who've maybe traditionally homeschooled or accessed customized education. Also for those who, you know, they've traditionally been in a public school, brick and mortar school even, that want to access more options than they've been able to. So having a building for their student to go to to be supervised by staff while working on these kind of customized projects and accessing online curriculum and still able to go to their boundary high school or secondary school or a couple of classes, this type of cafeteria approaches appealing

23:37for most families. I love that. So as we begin to wrap up, Kori, I'd love to hear your prediction. So where you think education is going in the next five years, both within your state of Utah, but also nationally because I think, you know, what you're telling us is happening in your backyard is a microcosm of what we're seeing across the country. Where do you see this all going? And are you optimistic? I am optimistic. There is going to be my prediction is that there'll be a lot of yin and yang opportunities and back and forth between the amount of choice and funding that's available for families to make those types of choices. And the amount of accountability and, you know, government play in that space. You know, the ESA space is growing right now and it may eventually grow further. It may eventually get more restricted.

24:39You know, it's tough to predict exactly how it's going to go, but one thing that will happen, I think is that the idea that parents and families will direct a lot more of what happens with public education dollars and with their student's education, that's here to stay and it will continue to grow. So whether the model is through Charters, ESA, public school districts trying to innovate and do something unique as an offering for families that gives them voice and designs with parents and not for them. I think those three lines are going to continue to stay into a merge. So that's great. So Cory, I'm sure my listeners and viewers are inspired by the work that you're doing, both in district and out of district. If they would like to connect with you or follow your work, what is the best way for them to do that? Yeah, they'd be, I would love to connect with them on ex ed Cory henwood or LinkedIn. It's another space I'm on

25:40or connecting with the school programs that I currently advise whether it's my custom class at my custom class on Facebook or Instagram or through our district. I'd be happy to chat further with like mine and folks who are trying to do the same type of work. Amazing. Well, best wishes to you and Cory henwood, thank you so much for being on the Liberated Podcast. Yeah, thank you so much for having me here. This has been great. Appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the Liberated Podcast. If you liked this episode, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and rate and review us while you're there. For more information about this episode, visit liberatedpodcast.com and to follow my writing and connect with me, please visit me at the foundation for economic education at c.org slash carry.