Maureen O’Shaughnessy: The Magic of Micro-schools

Maureen O’Shaughnessy, EdD, is a career educational activist with over 30 years of transforming learning in schools to better serve all students.

She is the founding director of Leadership Preparatory Academy, a nonprofit progressive micro-school in Washington State. With a master’s degree in educational administration and a doctorate degree in educational leadership, she has an extensive understanding of the components needed to transform the education system.

Dr. O’Shaughnessy is the author of Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids: A Step-by-Step Process that Empowers Frustrated Parents to Innovate Education and has served as head of school and principal internationally in countries such as Kuwait, Hungary, and Ecuador. Weaving in a strong emphasis on service and leadership at each school, she has been an educational change agent across the globe. And now as founder of Education Evolution, she aims to disrupt the education climate as we know it to help ensure each child is seen, heard and valued and met where they are academically, socially and emotionally.

Show Highlights

  • Mental health must trump any academic gains this year 
  • Benefits and challenges of running a micro-school 
  • How to avoid copping out when the shoe doesn’t fit your school
  • Kindred spirits are your windows of opportunity. Find them, make it official and support them despite uncomfortable colleagues. 
  • Valuing outcomes and not requirements
  •  Indicators that determine if students are thriving and not surviving

“Our kids are not thriving. And what’s the purpose of high school? What’s the purpose of school at all, if we’re not loving up these kids and then if they’re not going out and thriving and loving up the world. We’re seeing more hate crimes or seeing more serial murders. School could be a part of helping kids thrive and it’s not happening often enough.

Being human is one of the best gifts we can give our teachers and it gives them permission to be human too.”

Maureen O’Shaughnessy

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