Small Schools, Big Vision with Scott Bess

About this episode

Scott Bess discusses the challenges and innovations in K-12 education, advocating for systemic reform and the use of AI to enhance teaching.

Mike Caldwell sits down with Scott Bess, President of the Indiana Charter Innovation Center and a member of the Indiana State Board of Education, for a wide-ranging conversation about what's broken in K-12 education — and what's actually being done to fix it. Scott shares his winding path from classroom teacher to CIO at Goodwill Industries to education innovator, including the founding of the Excel Centers: a now-nationwide network of 60+ charter schools helping adults without diplomas earn credentials and transform their economic trajectories. Scott argues passionately for blowing up discrete subject areas, seat-time requirements, and the Carnegie Unit, while making the case for micro schools as a scalable, flexible alternative to traditional schooling. He also shares an exciting — and underutilized — vision for AI in education: not as a tutor for students, but as an operating system that maximizes teacher impact by matching kids to instruction exactly when they need it. The episode wraps with a look at Indiana's systematic approach to education reform — streamlining standards, redesigning the diploma, and aligning the legislature, governor's office, and state board around a…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Caldwell

Guest: Scott Bess

Topics covered

• K-12 education reform
• charter schools
• education innovation
• AI in education
• micro schools
• adult education

Keywords

• education reform
• charter schools
• AI in education
• micro schools
• adult education
• Indiana education
• Excel Centers

Sponsors

IXL

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Indiana Charter Innovation Center, Indiana State Board of Education, Goodwill Industries, Excel Centers

More episodes of Transformative Principal

• Making Mondays the Best Day of the Week with Jonathon Wennstrom · May 31, 2026 · 29 min
• The Nonlinear Path with Bill Knous · May 24, 2026 · 50 min
• Addition Through Subtraction with Robert Dillon · May 17, 2026 · 31 min
• Developing Teacher Leaders with Kyle Palmer · May 10, 2026 · 27 min
• Building Relationships That Outlast Leadership Transitions with Danny Bauer · May 3, 2026 · 31 min
• Read to Lead with Kimberly Miles · April 26, 2026 · 32 min