Russ in the Pod-o-Sphere (Pt. 2)

Spreading remarkable God-centered education in the city

Dear Friends,

Spreading Hope Network exists to spread remarkable, God-centered education in our nation’s cities, as we come alongside kingdom ‘edu-preneurs’ to pioneer & grow classical Christian schools, focused on underserved communities.

Russ has been on a podcast tour of sorts, and PART TWO is here for you. If you know other podcasts whose audiences should hear from Russ, then let us know!

Also in today’s newsletter – updates on summer webinars & Plunge events!

In Christ,
Michael Bolland, Managing Director


Email: [email protected]

ClassicalU

In this episode, Jesse Hake speaks with Russ about work being done to bring classical Christian education to under resourced communities. Russ spends time reflecting on a succession transition he’s currently in from leading a single school to enabling the launch of schools across the country. He talks about the necessity of these schools being supported by both visionary founders and what he calls “gospel patrons.”

Click below to listen!
Spreading the Feast of a Classical Education: A Conversation with Russ Gregg

In the past, as a pioneer himself in this area, Russ worked with ClassicalU to create a course for those interested in urban classical Christian education. Click the link below to check out this course.

Course – Spreading the Feast: Classical Ed for All

The Focus Group

Brad Leyland & Team at The Focus Group hosted an inspiring conversation with Russ about the journey of faith it has been to found Hope Academy & the replication of Hope’s success around the country through Spreading Hope.

Hope Academy started as a result of a compelling charge & invitation from the pulpit on a Sunday morning to “venture something crazy for God.” The discussion also includes an emphasis on the important of community involvement and the need for both founders and funders.

Podcast Link: Venturing Something Crazy for God

EdChoice

EdChoice is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing school choice through research, advocacy, and policy support. They have a series of podcasts they’ve done (36 of them since 2018) on what they call “Cool Schools” hosted by Mike McShane, their Director of National Research.

Back in March of 2019, McShane interviewed Russ to highlight Hope Academy as a “Cool School.” [Link: Episode 107 – Cool Schools with Hope Academy]

Some quotes from Russ on the interview that stand out are: “The education that’s best for the best is best for all…we believe that we have to guard against the soft bigotry of low expectations for urban children…we don’t disrespect inner-city children by thinking that they’re incapable of rising to such standards…we trace this back to the idea of the image of God being recognized in all children.” Russ is quoting a luminary (Adler) & politician (Bush) himself there, however, is grounding the charge in a central biblical truth.

Another highlight of the Cool Schools podcast series is that another Spreading Hope School was featured (Garden Christian Academy in Cleveland, OH). Founders, Danielle & Stephen Piscura, shared about their school before they launched! [Link: Episode 124 – Cool Schools with Garden Christian Academy]

Stephen outlined the impetus for SHN getting started: “Because of the successes of Hope Academy, and the number of people like Danielle & I who’ve reached out to them and said, ‘How did you do this? Can we do this? We believe in what you’re doing and we want to do it in our own city,’…that led the leadership of Hope Academy to found what is essentially a subsidiary organization called Spreading Hope. It’s a school-planting and coaching organization – not to create franchises…rather independent schools that make use of some, if not all, of the Hope Academy model.”

Plunge into the Movement

Plunge events are immersive, behind-the-scenes visits to our flagship remarkable, God-centered classical school for children of the city (Hope Academy). Join us and the story God is writing!

Register today – 25% OFF tickets through mid-June!
June 16-17th, 2025 (Mon-Tues) – register now
Sept 25-26th, 2025 (Thurs-Fri) – register now 
Jan 16-17th, 2026 (Fri-Sat) – register now
Mar 13-14th, 2026 (Fri-Sat) – register now