Latest news with #Fairhead
Business Insider
a day ago
- General
- Business Insider
The new 'one-room schoolhouse': Millions of kids are joining America's microschool movement
Mary Jo Fairhead felt that something was missing at the South Dakota public schools where she taught for over a decade, so she quit and started one in her home. The main challenge she's working to solve at her school, Onward Learning, which launched in 2022, is individual attention. She said each teacher has about 10 students. Schools nationally, by contrast, have an average of 15 students per instructor. "We know every one of our kids on a very personal basis," Fairhead said. "I know when they walk through the door if something's off, and I need to check in with them." Onward Learning is part of the growing "microschool" movement in the US. These schools have fewer than 20 students total on average and tend to employ an alternative learning environment that focuses on personalized lessons for each student. Demand for them is growing due to parents' desires to have a greater say in their kids' educations and have more options beyond the public schools in their district. Their popularity comes as the Trump administration is seeking to expand school voucher programs and has proposed redirecting federal funds from public schools to private schools, which could boost microschools' resources. Critics worry that the category is poorly defined — it could encompass a homeschool or a group facilitated by a teacher in a church, allowing for minimal state and federal regulation. Microschool advocates said kids learn best when education is tailored to best suit their needs. "It's my opinion that this type of learning could be beneficial for any child, but especially those kids that just need a little more space, either space to learn, space to run, and just a little less pressure," Fairhead said. "If you're the type of parent who wants a very structured day, lots of testing, and all of that, then my type of school is probably not the right fit." 'A new version of a one-room schoolhouse' Given the lack of definition, it's difficult to predict the number of students enrolled in a microschool at any given time. The RAND Corporation, a nonpartisan research organization, said in a March report that "the best currently available estimate" for the number of kids enrolled in a microschool full-time is between 1 million and 2 million, with "many more" enrolled part-time. Some microschools partner with religious institutions for funding and other resources. Fairhead said that her school enrolled 12 kids in its first year, and she just finished the third school year with 37 students from kindergarten through 8th grade and a "pretty long" waitlist. The days are typically structured with a few hours of learning core subjects in the morning, like science and math, and the rest of the day is focused on "experiential learning," like art, music, and outdoor activities. She also incorporates Lakota language — the indigenous language of the reservation near the school — into the students' curriculum. "If a child's struggling and they need something more personalized, we find it for them," Fairhead said. "Or if they're excelling and they need something that's going to challenge them more, we find that for them." Interest in microschools started to grow during the pandemic as families looked for ways to keep students together while schools were closed, Paige Shoemaker DeMio, a senior analyst for K-12 education policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, told BI. She called it "a new version of a one-room schoolhouse." The National Microschooling Center — a nonprofit that works to advance the microschool movement — released an analysis of the sector in May. Using data from interviews and online questionnaires with 800 microschools across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the analysis said that 74% of microschools have annual tuition and fees at or below $10,000. It also said that 41% of microschools rely on state-provided school choice funds to operate. Fairhead said that she partners with the local tribe for funding. She also received a $200,000 grant as a semifinalist of the Yass Prize, founded by billionaire Jeff Yass to award high-impact education initiatives. Don Soifer, CEO of the National Microschooling Center, told BI that the majority of microschool founders and teachers also have certified teaching experience. "Microschool leaders come from a background as experienced educators themselves who are excited at the opportunity for professional growth in no longer being bound by the requirements of the rigidities of a public school system," Soifer said. Soifer added that the goal of microschools is not to replace the public school system. Rather, it's to give families another option where their kids can be in a much smaller setting, and parents can be more clued into what their child is doing on a day-to-day basis. "We all have friends who are working in the public schools, making important progress on improving them, and more power to them for having the patience to do that," Soifer said, adding that he spent years doing the same. "But there are families that can't wait 20 years, 25 years for the public schools to make the improvements that are going to be able to help our kids who are in school right now." Different regulations from state to state Regulations for microschools vary by state. An analysis by the National Microschooling Center found that over half of microschools follow their state's homeschooling requirements, while the rest either follow their state's nonpublic school guidelines or operate in a state with a defined microschool statute. West Virginia, for example, codified the legal definition of a microschool in 2022, which says that one or more teachers can create a school that charges tuition and is an alternative to public, private, and homeschool enrollment. Georgia codified the legal definition of a learning pod one year prior, which could include a microschool structure. Having those legal definitions allows regulators to ensure microschools are meeting the necessary requirements, Shoemaker DeMio said — and the lack of definitions from other states raises concerns on how to best hold those schools accountable. Lack of accountability could give rise to misuse of funds and inability to track whether kids are effectively learning the curriculum, she said. "If we have a way that we can categorize certain schools as microschools, then we're able to actually break down the data and we're able to better understand who these students are serving and what quality of education they're receiving or how they're achieving," she said. Some microschools have been investigated for accusations of misusing funds. Arizona's attorney general launched an investigation in 2021 into a microschool company, accusing it of collecting charter school funding from the state without actually providing any curriculum. In West Virginia, the state's treasurer included a microschool in an investigation following complaints from parents that their tuition was not being used to teach their children. Fairhead said that she doesn't think more regulations are necessary and that they could diminish teachers' passion. She said that parents hold her accountable: "They ask questions. They want to know what we're teaching and what our kids are learning. And I prefer them to be my accountability over somebody who doesn't know my kids, doesn't know our area, and doesn't know me." Shoemaker DeMio said that absent clear guidelines, data on microschools and student outcomes will remain minimal. "If we can get specific regulations and guidance at the state level, that would be really helpful. It can provide us with data so that we could better track the schools," she said. "But at the same time, it would also be helpful for people interested in starting microschools if they have a better understanding, if they have better guidance from the state on how to go about this."
Los Angeles Times
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
7 newbie tips to the L.A. County Fair
I'm not much of a fair guy — I never win at carnival games, I get dizzy as a passenger in a car, and fair food is as overrated as In-N-Out. But last week, I attended the Los Angeles County Fair for the first time ever because why not? Besides, if Miguel Santana can be a Fairhead, so can I. He's one of the most influential people in Southern California: longtime confidante of the late Gloria Molina, former chief administrative officer for Los Angeles and current president of the California Community Foundation. But I think he had the most fun as head of the L.A. County Fair from 2017 to 2020, a stint immortalized by his appearance on the cover of the 2022 book '100 Years of the Los Angeles County Fair' riding a gondola lift alongside the book's author, legendary Inland Valley Daily Bulletin columnist David Allen. 'Who's there says a lot about us as Southern California,' Santana said of the L.A. County Fair's audience as I exited the 10 Freeway toward the Fairplex. 'It's a sense of Americana and proof we can be diverse and American at the same time.' I asked if this fair was as big as the Orange County Fair. He laughed the way all Angelenos do when presented with a comparison to Orange County. 'It's enormous. You're gonna get your 10,000 steps.' Behold, then, this newbie's L.A. County Fair tips: Fair parking is an ungodly $22.50, and don't you dare try to leave your jalopy at nearby Ganesha Park unless you want to spend a couple hundred dollars fishing it out of some random tow truck yard. My Pomona parking hookup was faithful reader Fernando Iniguez — gracias, Fern Iggy! I owe you a Jerez sweatshirt. $21.50 on the internet. At the gate? $32. Um, yeah. But one big complaint, Fair lords: It took me three attempts to buy my tickets online. Ever heard of Zelle? 'There's going to be so much music,' Santana told me, and he was right. Between live bands, Spotify playlists, DJs and radio stations, it was like walking through a wholesome Coachella. Bachata smoothly transitioned to Go Country went to KCRW became Taylor Swift switched over to a super-chirpy cover of the O'Jays' 'Love Train' at the Disco Chicken stand. And though Pharell Williams' 'Happy' played at least five times while I visited, the atmosphere was so cheerful that I didn't have to scream to drown out his ode to optimism. There's nothing like seeing suburbanites who probably think meat comes from Erewhon fairies stand with terror in their eyes as bleating sheep and goats swarm them asking for pellets. How much did fairgoers live in the moment? I saw next to no one use their smartphone other than for photos. And I also noticed a middle-age white guy in a MAGA cap standing a few feet away from a Muslim family with nary a negative look at each other. They were too busy staring ahead like the rest of us at an octet of magnificent Clydesdale horses ready to pull a Budweiser wagon. I loved all the vegetables and livestock at the Farm & Gardens, enjoyed the trippy art at the Flower & Garden Pavilion and appreciated the juxtaposition of a lowrider show next to the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum near the Millard Sheets Art Center. But the best part of the fair was the area labeled 'America's Great Outdoors' — and I say this as someone who thinks camping and hiking are for the (literal) birds! Volunteers sawed logs with kids, taught them how to pan for gold, showed off desert reptiles and even hosted an environmental magic show. Throw in a replica of a Tongva hut and a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout tower and the nearby sound of the RailGiants Train Museum, and this is what Knott's Berry Farm used to be before it became whatever the hell it is now. I had to rush back to Orange County for a columna the day I visited, so I only spent an hour and a half at the fair. I had to skip the tablescape competition, didn't go through the exhibit halls and was only able to eat at Hot Dog on a Stick because they make the best lemonade on Earth. But it was wonderful to leave the problems of the world mostly at bay for a few hours to enjoy the living, breathing Wikipedia that is a county fair at its finest — and the L.A. County Fair is definitely that. Huge Snorlax plush toy: Next year, you're mine. Alan says: 'Your Man by Josh Turner.'C Price says: 'The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.' Email us at essentialcalifornia@ and your response might appear in the newsletter this week. Today's great photo is from Times photographer Robert Gauthier at Dodger Stadium where the 2-year-old son of Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts runs away with the ceremonial first pitch ball. Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editorAndrew Campa, Sunday writerKarim Doumar, head of newsletters How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
