Florida’s Julie Young on Say Yes! How Virtual Became Reality

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and the Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy speak with Julie Young, edupreneur, innovator, and author of Say Yes! How Virtual Became Reality. She reflects on the pivotal moment in 1997 when she said “yes” to launching Florida Virtual School, sharing what it meant to build a new model of education from the ground up with limited resources and bold vision. Young draws a clear distinction between emergency remote learning and higher-quality virtual education, explaining how confusion between the two during the pandemic negatively impacted students. She discusses early leadership lessons, including guidance from then-Governor Jeb Bush, and what it took to scale a model centered on “any time, any place, any path, any pace.” Young also explores how she built a dynamic organizational culture amid skepticism, and what lessons she carried—and intentionally left behind—when founding ASU Prep Digital. She offers insights on staffing innovation, leadership, and the opportunities and challenges AI presents for the future of education. In closing, she reads a passage from Say Yes!: How Virtual Became Reality.