Ideagen Radio
Ideagen Radio
What True School Transformation Feels Like For Kids, Families, And Teachers with Michael Bower
What does it take to turn a school that feels unsafe into a place students can’t wait to enter each morning? Michael Bower, COO of UP Education Network, takes us inside a concrete model for K–8 transformation—one built on sharp priorities, family partnership, and immersive STEM experiences that connect classroom learning to real careers.
We unpack why UP moved from seven schools across Massachusetts to a deep focus on two Dorchester campuses serving 1,300 students. That strategic shift tightened culture, sped up feedback loops, and put resources where they count most: inside classrooms. Michael breaks down the four guiding pillars—core academics, social-emotional learning, equity, and immersive STEM—and explains why career-connected learning in middle school is the next essential frontier. From safe, joyful routines to high-quality curriculum and targeted supports, equity becomes daily practice rather than a slogan.
You’ll also hear how operations can fuel instruction when finance, talent, data, and governance align around a small set of goals. Partnerships play a starring role: family site councils co-create priorities, and local STEM firms host immersive experiences that spark ambition and boost engagement. One eighth grader’s visit to a venture capital firm led to a new business idea, a valedictorian turn, and a more competitive high school choice—proof that exposure can reset trajectories.
If you care about school turnaround, educational equity, or the future of work in middle school, this conversation offers a practical roadmap. Listen, share with a colleague, and tell us what kind of immersive learning would most inspire students in your community. If you find value here, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on to someone shaping schools today.
Learn more about UP Education Network here: https://www.upeducationnetwork.org/staff
View Michaels Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bower-bbb20618/
Welcome to Idea Gen TV. Today I am honored and privileged to have with me Michael Bauer, Chief Operating Officer for the UP Education Network. Michael, welcome.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, thanks so much for having me.
SPEAKER_01:You know, Michael, it's not easy, as I like to say always, to change the world, and somehow you're doing it. And so I want to begin by asking you for UP's mission, the mission to transform historically under-resourced schools, which is a it's a monumental mission. From your perspective as CEO, what does true school transformation look like in actual practice for the students, for the teachers, and for the families?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's uh it's a great question. Uh what transformation actually looks like and the experience that we've had is um when we've entered a school, that school uh has ultimately uh like failed the community. Um and that has happened when when we partner with the Boston Public Schools and the state to help transform the school, like you mentioned. Uh what that looks like for uh a kid is uh they have gone from uh an environment that in some days in some ways could be uh unsafe to an environment where there is joyful learning, true engagement, and like a community around uh that student to make sure that they thrive. Um, and our and and our mission is to make sure that uh all of our graduates are academically and socially prepared to excel uh from a competitive high school and on a path of their choosing. Um, and so that's what it will look like for a student. For a family, they feel part of the community, they enjoy bringing their kids uh to school every day, and they see academic growth from their kids. So all of their kids now should be learning uh and achieving more academically, but there's also a community around that family to help them and to support them. Um and then for teachers, what it uh or educators, what it looks like is you know, specifically what Up Education Network does is helps to train and develop our teachers. So they're getting more development and training to help provide uh the academic experience for uh for the kids that they serve.
SPEAKER_01:And so, Mike, how inspiring. I mean, you've overseen up's strategic shift from seven schools statewide in Massachusetts to a deeper focus on three campuses in Boston. What drove that decision and what impact has it had on student outcomes and school culture?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Um the we we actually operate two schools now in Boston, the three schools, we it was three schools, and two of them merged together. But the qu like the question is real. Like we uh we exited, uh, that's what we call it, um in two other regions in Springfield uh and in Lawrence. Um and the reasons uh for exiting those uh are varied. Um sometimes the conditions didn't exist uh within uh the uh region that we were serving that we felt we could uh achieve our mission and vision. Uh and the other uh in other cases, uh we did achieve our mission and vision uh and we're able to transition the school back to the district and local control. Um and what that means now is that we have a hyper focus on our schools in the Dorchester community here in Boston. Our schools serve 1,300 kids pre-K to eight, they're 0.3 miles apart, and we are able to really at the truly um in be part of the communities that we're serving and uh interact not only with like the students and the families that we serve, um, but the local community surrounding the schools.
SPEAKER_01:Incredible. And so UP is built on the four guiding pillars, which include core academics, social emotional learning, equity, and immersive STEM learning. Mike, of these pillars, which to you is the most critical right now? And how are you bringing this to life?
SPEAKER_00:Um, it's a really hard question because all of those pillars are certainly important. I would say that like we now have a strong uh academic foundation, uh, and we do have programming for SEL or social emotional learning. Um, we also um you know have a uh an equity uh team and uh that that focuses to make sure that uh we're providing equitable experiences for our educators, for our families, and for our kids. I would say the one thing that we're focusing on more now is bringing uh immersive STEM learning, uh, particularly to our middle school uh um grades. I mean, where we always need to and will try and get better in the academic uh uh portion of the work uh that is in the school. The exceptional learning environments that we want to uh provide for our students and families uh does not have to be um contained to the the walls of our building. We want to reach outside of those and have our students connect with the world around them uh and through immersing immersive learning with uh STEM-like companies where we are able to do that. So that is a large focus of ours right now to improve.
SPEAKER_01:And so as COO, you obviously manage the finance, the operations, the talent, the data, and the governance. Mike, how do you align these systems so that they directly support the crux of education, meaning the teaching and the learning?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I um like as with any strategy for an organization, uh, alignment is is really important uh across all the functions that we do. I think what like really helps us um uh stay focused um is that we we set priorities as a network and a school um as part of our strategic plan and aligned to our strategic plan, but then everybody is invested in. We spend a lot of time making sure that our focus for the year uh is um is coherent for all of our uh stakeholders, and whether that's our teachers, our families, uh our students, um, and you know, the community that's that surrounds our schools. So I think what we're really great at is making sure that we have a laser-type focus uh on the things that matter the most to uh propel the model that we believe and have proof that works for our uh for our school communities.
SPEAKER_01:And so, Mike, up serves communities that have long faced educational inequities. What does equity mean in your model? And how do you ensure that the students experience it each and every day?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh, it's a great question. I mean, I think what equity looks like uh from our perspective is that um every student, no matter like what zip code they're born in, uh has uh a right um to a quality education. Um and we focus on that to make sure that students within our neighborhoods who have been systemically uh under-resourced uh still have the opportunity to go a great to a great school so that they think they have uh the ability um to be like socially and economically mobile when they when they leave uh and graduate from us.
SPEAKER_01:And so families and community partners are central, obviously, to up success. Mike, can you share an example of a partnership? And I know there are many, yeah, but an example of a partnership that truly shifted outcomes for students.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think that um, you know, particularly with uh with with our families, um we have a structured uh like uh school site council um that has a number of families um on it, and we invite them in uh to truly be partners in the work and give us feedback on how we are uh executing and implementing like our our priorities. And so bringing them to the table uh to have those discussions, include them in those discussions is is paramount uh to the work. And that uh is further alignment between the school community on what we think is most important. And so I think that families are certainly a huge part of that and have moved like that partnership has truly moved uh the needle in terms of uh student outcomes. I would say like what we're building right now is um, you know, we have partnerships uh with STEM organizations and companies that we're we're really trying to figure out the longitudinal measures of the impact of that. But we've seen the immediate impact when we partner with a company and give our kids immersive learning experiences, that they are more engaged, they're more present, and they're more excited about um uh like about school. Um, and there's there's been uh instances where because of these uh trips uh and experiences that they have through immersive learning, students have changed uh their outlook and where they might want to focus when they enter high school. Um, and it's also helped them focus uh on their academics within the school as well. Um, we had one student named Yari uh who uh was an eighth grader who went on one of these experiences and then completely she did three things. First, she was she thought it would uh the organization that she went to, which is a venture capital firm, was interesting. And she started her own little business, which was awesome to see. She started focusing more on her academics, uh, and she was ultimately the valedictorian for our eighth grade. This was last year, and she decided a different path for herself to choose a more um uh competitive and better high school to continue her education when she graduated with us. And so that is anecdotal as uh one student, but we see that adding up uh to like true impact.
SPEAKER_01:And so, Mike, looking ahead, what specific innovations, whether in STEM, immersive learning, or school operations, uh, do you believe will most powerfully shape the future of K-8 education?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think there's probably two things that come to mind with uh, you know, what UP does. Um, and you mentioned that at the beginning with you know, you know, we have been uh a partner that has been able to transform schools to make them better. Uh there are, and and we are a proof point that that can happen. There are a number of different schools uh around the city of Boston, in in Massachusetts, and across the country that struggle. Um, and I think uh we have the ability uh to come in to support a school in partnership with a state or a district to help move that school to get better. And like that in itself uh is an innovation, and we look to do that in a uh sustainable and scalable way that will bring real systemic change to a school or a school community. Um, I think that the second opportunity uh is really around this career-connected learning and immersive learning that we're doing. Kids in middle school are not exposed enough to what uh the future could look like for them and connect what they're learning in school to what the real world and the future workforce is going to need and for them to be successful in it. And so that and how we partner with companies, how we infuse it into our academic programming is an innovation that I think is also scalable uh and is needed uh in middle schools uh throughout the country.
SPEAKER_01:Mike, you have inspired us, you've inspired so many individuals across the planet that will see this interview, and you're changing the world, as we talked about at the beginning of the interview. And that's not easy to do because if you'd already changed it, um, you know, no one would be doing anything. So you're working so hard to change the world, and I stand in awe of the work you're doing, having personally experienced and seen it. And so where and how can people find you, engage with the organization, support the organization, etc.?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I would say changing the world is uh um a really hard thing to do. And I wouldn't say that we're we're there yet, but like we are changing a school in a school community, um, and that in itself uh has a multiply uh like a multiplying effect. Um how like we how how how to support us, I think there's really like two concrete ways. Um the first is like we're a small non-for-profit. Um uh and if you go to our website at uh upeducationnetwork.org, there are ways uh that you could give uh so that we can keep uh doing the work that we do and potentially expand it. I think the other way to get involved is like really through this career-connected and immersive learning. If there is an organization or a company out there that is interested uh in what that looks like and how to partner with us or with the school, uh a school within their community, uh we would be happy to uh talk through that of what that could look like because we know that it is meaningful, certainly for our kids and for our families. It's also meaningful for the organizations and companies we partner with.
SPEAKER_01:Michael Bauer, Chief Operating Officer, Education Network, changing the world. You are changing the world, one school at a time. We're deeply grateful for your time, and we remain incredibly inspired by your work. Thank you so very much.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, thank you so much for having me.