Let's Get Personal : the Learning Lab Podcast
Through our work at Learning Lab Wichita, we get a front-row seat to innovation in personalized, kindergarten-through-12th-grade learning. On this podcast, we share stories of how educators and parents are helping kids discover their passions—so you can do the same for a child you love.
Episodes
26 episodes
Building Community Through Education and Culture with Shane Carter
When Shane Carter came to Wichita in 2025 to start his role as executive director of The Kansas African American Museum, he was no stranger to educational programming. While leading the Lincoln Community Center in Troy, Ohio, Shane ...
Teaching High School Students to Lead Now
Everyone can lead, and high school students are no exception.That idea is at the heart of Lead Now, a new curriculum from Kansas Leadership Center designed to empower high school students to lead in their own lives and communities. In th...
What It Takes to Start a School – And How Learning Lab Helps
Ever think about starting your own school?At its core, Learning Lab Wichita is designed to support educators and founders starting new K-12 education models, providing families with more options for their children's education. <...
From Division I Basketball Coach to Family & Community Impact
Conner Hampton is a former Division I basketball coach, a fundraising consultant, a national speaker – and he is Learning Lab Executive Director Lydia's husband.On this episode of Let's Get Personal, Conner delves into what school was li...
The Power of Community-Driven Change
Joe Woodward, Director of Wichita Operations for Stand Together Foundation, leads local efforts to advance bottom-up solutions for economic mobility. His work focuses on strengthening families and neighborhoods, fostering innovation in educatio...
Why All the Kids Love Molly
Molly Brown came to Wichita to become a zookeeper, but she stayed because she loved the city. Today, Molly serves as the events and program manager at Learning Lab Wichita, where she designs hands-on, engaging learning activities for kids and a...
The Bug Lady's Journey to Building the Unimaginable
Glass cases filled with cockroaches. Birds that speak English. Tortoises and ferrets roaming free.This is not your typical kindergarten classroom.In fact, it’s a learning environment unlike almost anything you’ve seen — and it sta...
Why This Former Teacher Chose to Homeschool
Melissa Lair's son knew his alphabet by the time he was 18 months old. As a former kindergarten teacher, Melissa knew he would be ahead of the curve in a traditional school classroom.So Melissa made the bold decision to homeschool her ch...
Beyond the Classroom: A New Path to Helping Students Thrive
Ashley Watkins left her career as a high school journalism teacher to pursue a deeper calling: academic coaching that supports the whole student.Blending her classroom experience with a natural gift for mentorship, Ashley helps students ...
The Heart Behind Sunflower Learning Community
Darby Breaux-Vickers is an education entrepreneur and the founder of Sunflower Learning Community, a learning model designed to nurture children’s curiosity while honoring their individual educational goals. With a background in the humanities ...
Built to Empower: Leadership Lessons from Lindsay Schroeder
Empowered CEO Lindsay Schroeder's career in the education industry began when she applied to serve as a high school dance coach. She ended up working 10 years as high school teacher before joining Empowered and becoming a champion for classroom...
Leading with Emotional Agility
With so much attention on AI, it’s easy to overlook one skill that might matter even more: emotional intelligence.In this episode, Learning Lab Wichita Executive Director Lydia Hampton shares insights from a recent training she attended ...
Inside the Design of Learning Lab Wichita
This week, we switch gears and explore the role of space design in learning. Lisa Shaffer, principal at Alloy Architecture, shares how she designed the interior of Learning Lab Wichita with both purpose and possibility in mind. Drawing on more ...
School From Every Angle: A Second Grade Teacher's Story
Angela Dooling has seen education from just about every angle. A second-grade teacher at Wichita Collegiate School, Dooling shares her experiences with public, private and microschool education. Dooling's son, Kai, attends Khan Lab School Wichi...
How Simulation is Changing the Way Students Learn CTE Skills
This week we’re joined by Niti Singh from Skillveri to talk about how simulators are changing the way students learn skilled trades. From welding to painting, these tools help students build confidence and competence before they ever use real e...
Innovation, Implemented: A 2025 Learning Lab Recap
Lydia and Kristin reflect on Learning Lab Wichita's biggest wins of 2025 – and get honest about what it really took to create a first-of-its-kind education innovation center. They reflect on what worked in their push for personalized learning a...
An Effort to Support All Students in the Largest School District in Kansas
Wichita Public Schools Director of Partnerships and Belonging Corinthian Kelly started his new role in October 2025, and he has big goals. Kelly shares how he plans to help every student succeed by building community partnerships and communicat...
Taking Action: How One Woman is Impacting the Microschool Movement
Dalena Wallace is a woman on a mission. Over the last five years, she founded Wichita Innovative Schools & Educators, a network of microschools and education businesses; started a consulting business, Autonomous, Innovative and Missional Ed...
Arts Organization Helps Kids Through Arts Integration and Exposure
Ellamonique Baccus, executive director of non-profit Arts Partners, has spent her life exposing young people to the arts. The organization she runs today in Wichita, Kansas, brings professional artists to teach groups of children. Baccus shares...
Helping Young People Discover Strengths for Better Career Discernment
True Compass is a business that helps young people discover their strengths to determine the best path forward after high school. Kristi Windish, founder and owner, shares about the True Compass process and how the assessment and consultation w...
Learning Together: How Lily Lake Offers Flexibility for Homeschool Families
When she could not find the type of facility for homeschool families she wanted to utilize, mom and local business owner Cassie Tinsmon and her husband Stewart Berger created Lily Lake Homeschool Collective. Located in a renovated old schoolhou...
How a Wrestling Academy Helps Kids Succeed: Setting Goals in Sports and School
Noel Torres, founder of Wichita Training Center Academy, won a DII National Wrestling Championship while attending Newman University (Wichita, KS) as a student. He later established Wichita Training Center, a local wrestling club that has grown...
From Academic Coach to School Director: Kim Hett’s Journey of Innovation
Kim Hett started in fall 2025 as Khan Lab School Wichita's second director. This small school located inside Learning Lab Wichita focused on mastery-based, online and experiential learning. Prior to becoming director, Kim held a variety of role...
Learning Happens Everywhere: A Homeschool Group Offers Enrichment and Community
This homeschool group leaves the academics to individual families, but group members join together for experiential learning and social time. Kammi Altig and Jaime Snider, leaders of the Wichita Independent Secular Educators (WISE) homeschool g...
Reimagining the School Day: A Project-Based Learning Microschool with Olivia Sumner
At Creative Minds vertical classroom, a Wichita Public Schools microschool inside Learning Lab Wichita, students in grades K–6 learn through hands-on, project-based experiences. Founding teacher Olivia Sumner reflects on launching this m...