ChaterFolk X Vol. 6.12 Marcos Martinez – “Building What It Takes to ‘Be Able'” 

Today, we are honored to introduce you to the extraordinary Marcos Martinez, Founder and CEO of PODER Academy Schools in Cheyenne, WY. 

When Marcos Martinez began developing PODER Academy Schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he wanted to give students something he hadn’t known to seek out himself: the chance to specialize. 

Growing up in Denver, Marcos received a strong education. But when he began competing against students who had spent years playing club soccer, tennis training, or competing in basketball leagues, he realized how much preparation he had missed. 

“I became a jack of all trades, but a master of none,” he recalled. 

When he founded PODER Academy, he set out to make those opportunities part of the school experience. Rather than offering tennis and chess as extracurricular activities, he built them into the curriculum, giving students years to develop skills that might otherwise have remained out of reach. 

Today, Marcos says some of PODER’s youngest chess players can beat their parents after just a year or two of instruction, while elementary and middle school tennis players are competing with high school students. Winning is certainly part of the appeal, but Marcos is just as interested in making sure his students get the chance to compete in the first place. 

That philosophy is reflected in the school’s name. Poder means “to be able.” 

Finding His Way to Charter Schools 

Marcos grew up attending Catholic schools in Denver and eventually earned a scholarship to a college-preparatory high school. He credits that education with preparing him for college and shaping his conviction in the importance of school choice. 

He began his career teaching social studies before moving into community organizing, where he represented parents in East Denver whose struggling neighborhood school was being considered for conversion into a charter school. The parents wanted to understand what the change would mean for their children. Marcos knew little about charter schools himself, so he started researching. 

In the process, he discovered a fellowship that trained aspiring charter school leaders. He had long wanted to open his own school, so he saw an opportunity to pursue that ambition. 

He applied and was selected as one of 15 fellows from across the country. After completing the program, Marcos founded a charter school in Denver and later brought his experience to Wyoming, where he opened PODER Academy in 2012. PODER Academy Secondary School followed in 2016. 

His experience as a community organizer continued to shape his view of education. He saw school choice as a matter of social justice, particularly for students who had historically struggled academically or lacked access to strong educational options. 

That conviction would eventually be tested. 

Opportunity, With the Preparation to Match 

At PODER, Marcos welcomes students from a wide range of backgrounds, including English language learners, students with disabilities, and children who arrive several grade levels behind. 

“We will take every student,” Marcos said. “We have no issues about taking tough students here and transferring them into scholars and champions.” 

He believes a student’s previous academic performance should not determine what they can achieve. That belief helps explain why PODER’s tennis and chess programs occupy such an important place in the school day. 

Marcos knew serious tennis training was available to young athletes whose families were willing and able to pay thousands of dollars for it. He wasn’t convinced that should be a prerequisite for discovering whether a child had talent. 

He wanted to offer something different. 

By making tennis and chess part of the curriculum, PODER gives students the chance to develop their skills over time without relying on private lessons or specialized training outside school. Both activities also demand concentration, strategy, and persistence, qualities Marcos believes carry over into the classroom. 

And the opportunities go beyond the school itself. PODER students participate in regional and national competitions, where they encounter peers from different backgrounds and, in some cases, with considerably more experience. 

For students who may be the first in their families to attend college, Marcos sees particular value in those experiences. They offer a chance to compete in unfamiliar environments and discover what they can accomplish. 

The same ambition extends to the classroom, where the school has earned recognition as both a National Blue Ribbon School and an ESEA Distinguished School. 

Despite the attention given to PODER’s distinctive programs, Marcos quickly emphasizes that academic achievement remains the school’s priority. 

Building a Culture of Confidence 

Marcos’s commitment to high expectations grew from his early experiences as a teacher. 

At his first teaching job, an inner-city Catholic school, he worked with students from difficult circumstances who were nevertheless encouraged to pursue college-preparatory high schools. What stayed with him was the sense of possibility the school instilled in its students. 

His next position, at an alternative charter school, was markedly different. 

“The students didn’t have hope. Faculty didn’t have hope,” he recalled. “It was a very pessimistic atmosphere.” 

The contrast left an impression. Marcos came to believe that a school’s culture could shape not only how students performed, but what they believed was possible for themselves. 

At PODER, he has worked to create the kind of environment he found so valuable in his first teaching position, one where students are expected to achieve, and educators are equipped to help them get there. 

He describes PODER as a “teacher-focused” network that invests heavily in professional development for faculty and school leaders. 

That work is personal for Marcos. Although he occasionally misses teaching, he has found a different kind of fulfillment in mentoring educators and administrators. He visits classrooms, works with teachers to evaluate their instruction, and helps create individualized improvement plans. 

The two PODER campuses also work closely together. Elementary and secondary teachers participate in professional development together, while school leaders coordinate to prepare students for the transition between programs. For students moving from PODER’s elementary school into its secondary school, that continuity means entering an environment where the expectations and culture are already familiar. 

Marcos sees those efforts as essential to the school’s success. High expectations alone are not enough. Teachers need the training and support to help students meet them. 

To Be Able 

Over the years, PODER students have found success in areas Marcos hadn’t initially anticipated, including academic competitions, speech and debate, and esports. 

But when asked what makes him most proud, he returns to academics. 

“We want to be the number one in proficiency, the number one in growth, number one in everything across the board,” Marcos said. 

Marcos isn’t particularly interested in modest goals, especially for students others may have underestimated. He also knows what it’s like to arrive at a competition and realize everyone else had a head start. He’d rather his students not have to repeat it. 

At PODER, the goal isn’t simply to give students something new to try. It’s to give them the time and preparation to become genuinely good at it. 

And if Marcos has anything to say about it, they’ll be good enough to win.