Charter Chat Podcast

Juliet Lucero•charterchat.podbean.com

Education

Kids & Family

Education for Kids

Where Charter Schools Tell Their Story

Last refreshed: July 2nd, 2025 at 7:52 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

David Porter of University Preparatory Academy - Covid-19 Special | Episode 009

For Episode 9, I interviewed David Porter, the Executive Director of University Preparatory Academy in the Silicon Valley in San Jose. This is a special edition Covid-19 episode and David speaks about their transition to virtual learning. University Preparatory Academy is a seat based charter school that has strong community support. The main mission of the school is to help prepare students to succeed in college. All students are required to take two AP classes before they graduate. Thank you t...

May 15, 2020•22 min•Ep. 9

Jennifer Cauzza of Julian Charter School - Covid-19 Special | Episode 008

For Episode 8, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Cauzza, the Executive Director of Julian Charter School . This is a special edition Covid-19 episode. Julian Charter School is a hybrid program that has recently switched to total independent study during the global pandemic. Jennifer discusses the resources and technology they are utilizing to support distance learning. Thank you to Jennifer Cauzza for taking the time to sit down with me tell us about the changes they have implemented ...

Mar 20, 2020•25 min•Ep. 8

Jody Graf of Visions In Education | Episode 007

For Episode 7, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jody Graf, the Executive Director of Visions In Education . VIE is a home school program in Northern CA in 9 different counties, including Sacramento. Jody and I discussed their unique program and how their teachers will make home calls to the elementary student's homes. Their teachers really take the time to build relationships with their families and students. Visions In Education also started an internship program and Jody invites people ...

Mar 06, 2020•28 min•Ep. 7

Carrie Wagner of Girls Athletic Leadership School | Episode 006

I sat down with Carrier Wagner, Founder & Executive Director of Girls Athletic Leadership School (GALS) for Episode 6. GALS is a free, all girls public charter school in Panorama City, CA. GALS is collocated on a beautiful LAUSD campus. The students at GALS get access to the Olympic sized swimming pool as well as the other athletic facilities. Each morning the students and staff start their day with movement doing yoga. Carrie and I discussed the social emotional component of their program a...

Nov 06, 2019•23 min•Ep. 6

Claudia Weintraub of River Oaks Academy | Episode 005

For Episode 5, I sat down with Claudia Weintraub, Executive Director of River Oaks Academy, a TK through 12th grade, independent study, or personalized learning as they like to call it, charter school that has two locations in Westlake Village and Oxnard. This school has concurrent enrollment available at the local junior college so students can be earning college credit while in high school. A very unique thing that River Oaks has is they are dual accredited with WASC and the NCAA. Since they h...

May 15, 2019•27 min•Ep. 5

Meadows Arts Technology Elementary School | Episode 004

For Episode 4, I headed on over to Thousand Oaks, CA to Meadows Arts and Technology Elementary School, or MATES for short. I interviewed Brenda Olshever the Executive Director and Kristin Walker, the Assistant Director. MATES is a conversion school, which means it was once a district school that later converted into a charter school. The school was going to be shut down by the district due to low student enrollment, but instead they turned it into a thriving charter school. Learn about how MATES...

May 01, 2019•27 min•Ep. 4

Redwood Preparatory Academy | Episode 003

I spoke with a couple of the Founders of Redwood Preparatory Charter School, located in Humboldt County for the third episode of the Charter Chat Podcast. I had the pleasure of interviewing Krista Croteau & Melanie Downing who are both a couple of the founders of the school. Hear about how Krista and Melanie got started in education and how they decided to start a charter school in their small community. They have a great story about how Redwood Prep started and how the community really came...

Apr 17, 2019•24 min•Ep. 3

Christine Kuglen of Innovations Academy | Episode 002

For the second episode of the Charter Chat Podcast, I visited with Christine Kuglen from Innovations Academy, located in San Diego. Christine has a great story about how she started her charter school. She also speaks about how she home-schooled her kids prior to starting a school. Innovations Academy has various personalized learning options. Christine speaks about the types of programs they have including homeschooling, a hybrid classroom based program and a full five day classroom program. La...

Mar 27, 2019•30 min•Ep. 2

Ana Chavez of Value Schools | Episode 001

I sat down with Ana Chavez from Value Schools, located in Los Angeles, CA for the first episode of the Charter Chat Podcast. She tells us about how she got started in charter schools and education. Ana spoke about their values-based model and how the kids build character and learn the importance of community. We discussed some of the challenges Value Schools faces with facilities and their current ongoing fundraiser to raise money to build a permanent home for one of their campuses. Ana continue...

Mar 27, 2019•29 min•Ep. 1

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