{"podcast":{"title":"LiberatED Podcast","slug":"liberated-podcast-4897868","podcast_index_feed_id":4897868,"rss_url":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/397037/rss","website_url":"https://edentrepreneur.org","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/3/e/a/0/3ea0be349825968316c3140a3186d450/LiberatED_Podcast_Profile.png","author":"Education Entrepreneurship Lab","episode_count":409,"summary":"The LiberatED Podcast tells the stories of the entrepreneurial parents and teachers who are creating innovative K-12 learning options across the US and expanding education options for families. It is a project of the Education Entrepreneurship Lab at the Foundation for Economic Education. Learn more at edentrepreneur.org.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-23T12:17:20.449304+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/liberated-podcast-4897868"},"episode":{"title":"When A Microschool Founder Has To Step Away","slug":"when-a-microschool-founder-has-to-step-away","published_at":"2026-06-30T13:08:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/liberated-podcast-4897868/when-a-microschool-founder-has-to-step-away","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/liberated-podcast-4897868","url":"http://www.liberatedpodcast.com","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/c378c474-ac1a-4738-bc29-87987b4e13ec/When_A_Microschool_Founder_Has_To_Step_Away_FINAL_audio.mp3?dest-id=3264842","summary":"When Niki Harris and her husband launched Farm School on their working farm in Northern California in 2018, they were simply looking for a better educational option for their own four children. What began as a part-time co-op quickly grew into a thriving place-based microschool serving dozens of students through multiple programs. But after nearly a decade of growth, unexpected circumstances forced Niki to make one of the hardest decisions any school founder can face: halting operations in the middle of the school year. On this episode of LiberatED , Niki shares the remarkable story of Farm School's evolution, the emotional and operational challenges of pausing a beloved microschool, and the lessons every education entrepreneur can learn from her experience. *** Sign up for Kerry's free, weekly email newsletter on education trends at edentrepreneur.org . Kerry's latest book, Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling , is available now wherever books are sold!","meta_description":"When Niki Harris and her husband launched Farm School on their working farm in Northern California in 2018, they were simply looking for a better educatio…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2149,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/liberated-podcast-4897868/episodes/when-a-microschool-founder-has-to-step-away/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/liberated-podcast-4897868/when-a-microschool-founder-has-to-step-away.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}