27-05-2025
Public Microschooling Gains Popularity And Support
As microschools and similarly personalized educational models spread quickly across the U.S., visionary educators working within traditional public schools are taking notice. These 'intrapraneurs' are embracing the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that is fueling the growth of new schools and learning spaces in the private sector, and they are bringing that enterprising attitude to their own schools and school districts.
George Philhower is one of them. As Superintendent of the Eastern Hancock public school district in rural Charlottesville, Indiana, Philhower first heard about microschooling during the Covid pandemic, and saw the growing appeal of these smaller, more flexible learning communities that tailor curriculum and instruction to each child's individual needs. He began to wonder if there was a way to bring the microschooling model into the public school system.
'I've spent my entire career trying to figure out how to create school experiences that kids actually love—places where they feel seen, safe, challenged and inspired,' said Philhower, who started out as a public school special education teacher more than two decades ago. 'Over time, I've become convinced that to truly achieve that, we need a level of personalization that's hard to accomplish within traditional school structures. That's where the microschool model comes in.'
Two years of conversations and planning culminated in the creation of the Indiana Microschooling Collaborative (IMC), a nonprofit organization that gained approval earlier this month from the Indiana Charter School Board to operate the state's first network of public charter-microschools. Like all charter schools, these IMC schools will be tuition-free public schools, with the first location set to open within the Eastern Hancock school district this fall. The goal is for these IMC microschools to eventually expand statewide.
Philhower is leading the IMC network and overseeing the launch of the new microschools, while continuing in his role as Eastern Hancock Superintendent. This collaboration is intentional. Philhower says that the IMC network and the school district are fully aligned in their enthusiasm for the microschooling model and are eager to work together to innovate public schooling from within. 'If we want to create schools where every kid wakes up excited to attend, it's going to take both transforming existing systems and building new ones that can serve as models,' said Philhower. 'Personally, I also want to break down the walls that separate different types of schools.'
Indiana has been a pioneer in expanding education options. In addition to charter schools and intra-district and cross-district 'open enrollment' options that enable students to choose a different public school, Indiana is among the 16 states that have introduced universal private school-choice programs in the past few years. These programs enable all school-age children to be eligible to use a portion of education funding for private educational options, including microschools.
Philhower believes it is good for families to have options when it comes to a child's education. Currently, 40 percent of the 1,200 students in his Eastern Hancock school district are choosing to attend from other districts. That's an incentive for Philhower and his colleagues at both Eastern Hancock and IMC to continue to innovate, as they compete with a growing assortment of public and private educational choices. 'IMC is designed to offer a free, public option for families who might otherwise choose homeschooling or leave the public system altogether, while still wanting support, structure and a clear path to a diploma,' he said.
Microschools and various homeschooling collaboratives are often able to respond quickly and creatively to the needs and preferences of parents and students, which is why their popularity has grown in both Indiana and across the country. Jill Haskins, a former public school teacher turned Indiana homeschooling mom and microschool founder, has seen this growth first-hand. She created the Indiana Microschool Network to support microschool founders and families, and also works closely with the National Microschooling Center on outreach efforts in Indiana and beyond. In 2023, Haskins knew of only 6 microschools in Indiana. Today, she says there are over 130 microschools in the state, with new ones regularly opening.
This microschooling momentum creates an opportunity for education 'intrapraneurs' working within the traditional public school system to emulate the innovations occurring around them to attract and retain families. New resources, such as the Public Microschool Handbook, aim to help public school educators to launch and lead new microschools within their school systems. Published this month by Transcend Education, the Getting Smart Collective and Learner-Centered Collaborative, the Handbook is a comprehensive guide for public microschool leaders, offering tips and action items for each stage of the launch process. My new book on the proliferation of innovative K-12 learning models also has a chapter dedicated to these "intrapreneurs" and the steps they can take to make change internally.
Educators within and outside of the traditional public school system are recognizing the rising demand for smaller, more personalized, more learner-centered educational models like microschools. In Indiana, Haskins is thrilled that a new charter-microschool network is emerging alongside the state's robust independent microschooling sector. 'I believe that microschooling, in general, is a really great option for families and what better way to create systemic change in the public schools than by having public schools open microschools,' she said, adding that she hopes the rise of public microschooling won't compromise the originality and autonomy of private microschools. 'My one concern about public microschools is that the Indiana Department of Education is going to assume that the public sector is exactly like the private sector and the implications of that could be stifling for the private microschools. Our approaches are very different.'
