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Listen "#61 Cherry Creek Academy | Scott Mendelsberg and Annemarie Mahan"
Episode Synopsis
In this episode of “The Charter School Connection” Dallan speaks with Scott Mendelsberg, Executive Director and Annemarie Mahan, Elementary Principal at Cherry Creek Academy in Englewood, CO. Getting to speak with two different administrators at once makes this episode special.
We learn the journey they each took to get to their current positions. They couldn’t be more different. Annemarie has been at Cherry Creek since 2012 and Scott has only been there since April 2025. Annemarie shares her experience of going from a peer to the teachers to their supervisor. Trust and respect are her keys to making this successful.
Charter schools in general are special because they are able to differentiate themselves from others. Hook people in by identifying your outcome and fully believing it. If you do this, success always works and it always matters. Dallan uses this to discuss a theory from the book “The Dip” by Seth Godin and if they agree or disagree with it.
Cherry Creek Academy was one of the first charter schools in Colorado and is celebrating 30 years of existence this year. They are a core knowledge school that focuses on their connection/partnership with the parents and students. They are a diverse school with over 600 students and 60 different languages spoken. They have been awarded the John Irwin Schools of Excellence every year since the award started in 2001. Although they are an excellent school, they are constantly looking to see how they can improve and fix gaps.
When it comes to challenges and how to overcome them, the advice given is to remember the common goal is to do what is best for the students. If you do this, you can overcome most challenges. Do not let yourself get off course with things you cannot control.
To end the episode Annemarie gives some great advice for administrators. Build genuine connections and find people you can connect to and be honest with. Tune in to learn how to put this to use!
Time Stamps:
00:46 How did you get involved in the charter school world - Annemarie’s Story
1:55 What position did you start working as at Cherry Creek Academy
2:22 What was the transition like from classroom to administration
3:43 How did you get involved in the charter school world - Scott’s Story
6:22 How do you explain to a charter school how to differentiate themselves?
8:55 If a school is not first or second, should they pivot how they do things, do you agree or disagree?
10:07 What makes Cherry Creek Academy unique?
16:08 What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
19:24 Final thoughts and insights
Show Notes:
Cherry Creek Academy https://www.cherrycreekacademy.org/
“The Dip” by Seth Godin https://a.co/d/1EAlzTB
We learn the journey they each took to get to their current positions. They couldn’t be more different. Annemarie has been at Cherry Creek since 2012 and Scott has only been there since April 2025. Annemarie shares her experience of going from a peer to the teachers to their supervisor. Trust and respect are her keys to making this successful.
Charter schools in general are special because they are able to differentiate themselves from others. Hook people in by identifying your outcome and fully believing it. If you do this, success always works and it always matters. Dallan uses this to discuss a theory from the book “The Dip” by Seth Godin and if they agree or disagree with it.
Cherry Creek Academy was one of the first charter schools in Colorado and is celebrating 30 years of existence this year. They are a core knowledge school that focuses on their connection/partnership with the parents and students. They are a diverse school with over 600 students and 60 different languages spoken. They have been awarded the John Irwin Schools of Excellence every year since the award started in 2001. Although they are an excellent school, they are constantly looking to see how they can improve and fix gaps.
When it comes to challenges and how to overcome them, the advice given is to remember the common goal is to do what is best for the students. If you do this, you can overcome most challenges. Do not let yourself get off course with things you cannot control.
To end the episode Annemarie gives some great advice for administrators. Build genuine connections and find people you can connect to and be honest with. Tune in to learn how to put this to use!
Time Stamps:
00:46 How did you get involved in the charter school world - Annemarie’s Story
1:55 What position did you start working as at Cherry Creek Academy
2:22 What was the transition like from classroom to administration
3:43 How did you get involved in the charter school world - Scott’s Story
6:22 How do you explain to a charter school how to differentiate themselves?
8:55 If a school is not first or second, should they pivot how they do things, do you agree or disagree?
10:07 What makes Cherry Creek Academy unique?
16:08 What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
19:24 Final thoughts and insights
Show Notes:
Cherry Creek Academy https://www.cherrycreekacademy.org/
“The Dip” by Seth Godin https://a.co/d/1EAlzTB
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