Ashley Heard has spent eight years making the case for intentionally diverse charter schools, and she is more convinced than ever that they matter right now.
In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Ashley Heard, Development and External Affairs Lead at the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition, for a conversation that is about much more than charter schools. It is about what schools can mean for democracy, belonging, and fairness.
A South Louisiana native who grew up moving around the country, Ashley came up through Teach For America and has worked in education ever since. Now raising three kids in New Orleans, she talks openly about navigating school choice as a parent who knows the system better than most, and still finds it hard. Choice only counts, she argues, when the options are good and actually accessible.
Ashley makes a sharp case against innovation for its own sake. We do not need to reimagine education, she says. We have research on what helps kids learn, and we should do more of it well. Drawing on a definition of learning she picked up in law school, she explains why a truly great school has to be a brain disruptor, and why putting kids alongside others who do not look, think, or believe like them is the point.
The conversation also turns personal, as Ashley reflects on moving from hustle to flow, leaning on her team, and the habits she wishes she had built earlier.
Tune in to hear why Ashley believes diverse schools are an antidote to this moment.
Chapters:
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01:15 Meet Ashley Heard and eight years at the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition
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02:33 From a childhood on the move to finally home in New Orleans
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04:01 A third kid, a Cinco de Mayo baby, and what changed
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06:34 Choosing a school for her own son, and the guilt that comes with it
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07:50 Good choices versus great ones, and why access is the real problem
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10:38 Bar-setting schools, and the one that nails culture and results together
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14:49 Stop innovating for innovation's sake, we already know what works
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15:48 What TNTP's Opportunity Makers found about schools that get results
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19:04 You cannot build a great school without well-paid, well-trained teachers
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23:40 Learning is brain disruption, and why diverse schools are the answer
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27:23 Schools as a tool of equity and an antidote in this political moment
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32:20 Leading as a woman right now, and moving from hustle to flow
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38:01 Reading for pleasure again, and a book that became a friend
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40:09 A wisdom bite for the next generation: build healthy habits early
Links:Connect with Ashley Heard on LinkedIn or explore the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition to learn more about her work supporting intentionally diverse public charter schools across 28 states.
Episode 33