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While schools and districts are trying to sort out when and how they will be able to open, a different model for schooling is emerging that just might be a right answer for many families. Though microschooling is not a new concept, it is one that many parents might not be familiar with.
MicroschoolingNV.org is a new initiative that is building a dynamic ecosystem of diverse microschooling opportunities in Nevada, beginning with the Greater Las Vegas Microschooling Collaborative.
Microschooling is an updated version of the one-room schoolhouse. It offers flexibility in both core content and specialized learning. Microschooling offers a solution, often a short- or medium-term solution, to families who want something different. We are working to incubate a network of microschools across the valley during 2020 -- take our Microschooling Interest Survey to see where you might fit in!
Microschooling succeeds with flexibility, not tied to any strict definition. Often a microschool serves ten students or less, when housed in a family home, or up to 25 students when located in a dedicated facility.
Costs can remain relatively low, depending on setting, teacher arrangement, device needs, and curricular choices.
Microschools often serve students of different ages in the same setting.
A microschooling network can be fluid, so that students can move between microschools depending on circumstances or interest. A “digital backpack” can allow a student to transfer relatively seamlessly and without lost learning time.
A family may choose to utilize microschooling as a “for now” solution, say as a reaction to an unsatisfactory circumstance at their previous school, such as a bullying situation.
Instruction in microschooling is driven by the needs of the learners in both core and specialized areas. In the established, and flourishing, microschooling ecosystem that the Greater Las Vegas Microschooling Collaborative envisions, students and families will have the fluidity to move between a variety of programs available for both core subjects and specialized learning.
This will apply to specialized learning as well. If a parent is looking for an arts microschooling experience one year for their child, and then during the course of the year the child’s interests sway more to science, the student can be effortlessly transferred to a new microschool, with progress and individualized learning plans following the student to the new location.
Microschools offer temporary or long-term solutions, depending on what families are looking for. This makes it an appealing option for families that might be struggling with bullying, or feel that the assigned teacher at their child’s current school is perhaps not the best match for their child and want a temporary, one-year solution.
Look for Part II - Microschooling: Homeschool Co-op, Private School, or Public/Public Charter School?