Guest: Gayle Nadler, Executive Director & Co-Founder, Multicultural Learning Center (Los Angeles, CA) Host: Vashaunta Harris Powered by: National Charter Schools Institute

What happens when language, culture, and belonging are treated as strengths — not barriers?

In this powerful episode of Bold by Choice, host Vashaunta Harris travels to Los Angeles to sit down with Gayle Nadler, co-founder and executive director of Multicultural Learning Center (MLC), a TK–8 public charter school that has been living out the promise of bilingual, inclusive education for more than 20 years.

Gayle shares the deeply personal story that shaped MLC’s design — from her fourth-grade experience being bused across Los Angeles into a bilingual classroom where she longed to belong, to the living-room conversations with her mother that led them to open a dual-language charter school during California’s ban on bilingual education (Proposition 227). Just days after opening, the school faced the national trauma of 9/11 — a moment that cemented MLC’s mission to prepare students to navigate a complex, interconnected world with empathy, confidence, and voice.

Listeners will hear how MLC’s two-way bilingual immersion model treats every student as a language learner, why cultural identity is central to academic success, and how classrooms are intentionally designed for joy, movement, collaboration, and inclusion. Gayle also reflects on alumni stories that reveal the long-term impact of the school — graduates who advocate across cultures, challenge injustice, and carry confidence into college, careers, and community life.

The conversation closes with reflections on leadership, balance, listening to students, and what it truly means to be bold in education.

Episode Highlights:

• A fourth-grade experience that inspired a lifelong commitment to belonging

• Founding a bilingual charter school during California’s ban on bilingual education

• Designing classrooms where language, culture, and identity are assets

• Alumni stories that reveal the long-term impact of dual-language learning

• A scholarship fund rooted in legacy, community, and giving back

• Leadership lessons on balance, accountability, and leading with heart

If you believe schools should reflect the world students live in — and help them thrive within it — this episode is for you.

Share this episode with someone who believes in bilingual education, inclusive design, and public schools built on love and purpose. And don’t forget to share your own #SchoolBrag story with us.

Until next time — stay Bold by Choice.

Guests: Mike Chalupa & LaShawn Bowser Hosts: Vashaunta Harris & Jim Goenner

What does it look like when a public school is designed around a single, powerful question: What would it take for every student to be known, loved, and inspired academically?

In this episode of Bold by Choice, hosts Vashaunta Harris and Jim Goenner head to Baltimore to spotlight City Neighbors—a family of public charter schools that has spent nearly two decades proving what’s possible when creativity, authentic relationships, and student agency sit at the center of learning.

City Neighbors began not in a boardroom, but in a living room—where 17 families gathered around a quilt-covered table, dreaming up the best school they could imagine for their children. From that vision grew one of Maryland’s earliest charter schools, now expanded into three campuses serving nearly 900 students across two K–8 schools and a high school. The through-line has never changed: small communities, deep relationships, and learning that matters.

Mike Chalupa, Executive Director and founding leader, shares how his own middle-school experience—watching the clock tick toward dismissal—shaped his commitment to building schools where students don’t want learning to end. LaShawn Bowser, school leader at City Neighbors Hamilton, reflects on her journey from youth counseling to education and the moment she realized that how students experience their school day shapes everything else in their lives.

Together, they unpack what makes City Neighbors distinct:

• Public project-based learning grounded in real questions and real work

• Reggio Emilia–inspired design, treating students as capable, creative, and worthy of deep respect

• Arts integration as a core academic strategy

• Intentional physical spaces that signal calm, dignity, and collaboration

• Teacher autonomy and professionalism, where educators design learning with students, not just for them

Listeners hear powerful stories—from a student who learned she no longer had to change herself to fit school, to graduates who name the adults who loved them when it wasn’t easy, to projects that helped students see themselves as problem-solvers and creators in the world.

The conversation also pulls back the curtain on leadership: the hard days, the failures that become learning moments, and the long-game mindset required to do human-centered work well. As Mike and LaShawn remind us, this is journey work—and transformation doesn’t happen on a timetable.

This episode is a reminder that:

• Joy, beauty, and belonging are academic strategies

• Failure is an event, not an identity

• Great schools are built by communities brave enough to ask different questions

If you believe public schools can be places where students are fully themselves—brilliant, curious, messy, creative, and whole—this is a #SchoolBrag you won’t want to miss.

Listen in and be inspired by City Neighbors—where students are truly known, deeply loved, and academically inspired.

Guest: Dr. Matthew Tyson, CEO, Tapestry Public Charter School Hosts: Vashaunta Harris & Jim Goenner Powered by: National Charter Schools Institute

What if schools were designed around real children—their strengths, their differences, their pace, and their potential?

In this episode of Bold by Choice, we travel to Georgia to spotlight Tapestry Public Charter School, a middle and high school where neurodiversity isn’t just accepted—it’s celebrated. Founded by parents seeking something better for their children, Tapestry was built as a fully inclusive learning environment where neurotypical and neurodivergent students learn side by side, supported by co-teachers, small class sizes, individualized learning plans, and a deep culture of belonging.

Hosts Vashaunta Harris and Jim Goenner sit down with Dr. Matthew Tyson, Tapestry’s CEO, whose journey—from special education teacher to charter leader—has been shaped by a lifelong belief that a child’s zip code or learning style should never define their future. Growing up in a neurodiverse family and moving frequently across states, Dr. Tyson saw firsthand how uneven educational systems can be—and why schools must evolve.

Throughout the conversation, Dr. Tyson shares powerful stories that bring Tapestry’s model to life, including:

• A former student once written off academically who went on to master college-level math

• Why “every classroom is a special education classroom—in the best way possible”

• How co-teaching, double planning periods, and student ownership fuel teacher retention and joy

• What it took to advocate at the Georgia State Capitol—and win bipartisan support—to expand charter access after years of district denials

• Why inclusion isn’t a program, but a belief system that shapes every decision

With a 100% graduation rate, a long waiting list, and a second campus opening in Clayton County, Tapestry shows what’s possible when schools center dignity, flexibility, and high expectations for every learner.

As Dr. Tyson reminds us, “It’s never the kids—it’s on us.” And when educators design with love, courage, and persistence, students don’t just succeed—they belong.

This is a true #SchoolBrag episode—one that challenges assumptions, honors student voice, and reimagines what inclusive public education can be.

Listen in and share with anyone who believes schools should work for all kids—not just some.

• Tapestry Public Charter School: https://www.tapestrycharter.org

• Diverse Charter Schools Coalition: Schools like Tapestry are proud members of DCSC