Latest news with #microschooling
Fox News
7 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
‘Uber of education' app launches as parents seek public school alternatives
An app that has a concept similar to Uber is connecting parents with specialized schools while many are fleeing the public school system. Edefy was launched in 2021 by a family with experience in investing in private schools overseas. The app's website explained that the software was "inspired by the rapid rise and outstanding results generated by Pod/Micro-Schooling." The creators of the app told Fox News Digital that this app was finalized this month after some piloting. "We have been funding the development of the Edefy app/platform for two and a half years, and began using a very rudimentary version of our app last year for some pilot pods, but the first real version for public use was just finalized and released a few days ago. We consider this version 1, but have a robust product pipeline so will be rapidly updating it with new features each week," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Ultimately, I was just very frustrated with public education, and wanted to break its infrastructure and logistics monopoly, and from experience saw that the Pod school model created a better system for children and teachers," the founder of the app, who does not want their name to be disclosed, told Fox News Digital. "In-person education requires a three-sided marketplace... essentially an Airbnb for education space, meets Uber to connect families directly with teachers. It was quite the technical challenge, which is why it took so long to build, but the implications are pretty exciting," he added. School choice advocate of the American Culture Project, Corey DeAngelis, told Fox News Digital that "Uber revolutionized transportation by connecting drivers with riders." "It lowered costs, increased quality, and improved the taxi business through competition. The concept behind Edefy is the Uber of education," he said. The app creators began manually coordinating families and teachers with places to meet to form "pod schools." "This is an emerging market so terms are still somewhat undefined, but in our view, Pod schools are when families gather together and compensate the teacher they want directly," the founder told Fox News Digital. Pod schools operate similarly to microschooling, which is a hybrid of homeschooling and the traditional public school setting. These education models could be privately run or held at public institutions. The Indiana Microschool Collaborative describes microschools as "a small learning space in your local community where each student has a personalized learning plan built around their needs, interests, and goals." There has been an uptick in parents choosing to homeschool their children since the coronavirus pandemic, indicating a growing trend of parents overlooking public schools. While microschools are not a new concept, they operate similarly to homeschooling. After Arizona launched its $800 million universal school choice program giving parents $7,000 to put toward their child's education expenses, Tucson Unified School District is reportedly recently facing financial and enrollment struggles–citing losses of $20 million as parents overlooked the district. Several other states followed Arizona in passing universal school choice legislation, responding to the trend of parents seeking alternative options to traditional public schools. DeAngelis added that Edefy "could revolutionize education by connecting teachers with students while putting parents in the driver's seat." "Public schools spend about $20,000 per student per year. Imagine if that money followed the child with school choice and a teacher set up a microschool with 12 students. That teacher could pull in $240,000 in revenue each year, make more money than in the public school system, and have the freedom to teach without bureaucratic red tape," DeAngelis said. He concluded, "This concept shakes up the entire factory model school system… Parents want alternatives to the one-size-fits-all government school system, and the best teachers are ready to jump ship, too."
Forbes
09-06-2025
- General
- Forbes
Microschooling Spreads In Choice-Friendly States
Ar'Jillian Gilmer with her microschool students When Ar'Jillian Gilmer launched her Arkansas microschool last fall, she wanted to create a new education option for students who were not thriving in a conventional classroom. A longtime public school teacher in Little Rock who had been offering personalized tutoring services since 2020, Gilmer knew that one-size-fits-all schooling wasn't always best for students. She became increasingly interested in the concept of microschooling, or an educational approach that prioritizes highly individualized, affordable, flexible learning. 'I'm a proponent for whatever educational setting works best for the child,' said Gilmer. 'If your child is doing well in public school, great. Leave them there. But if your child needs a smaller class size, if they need more one-on-one or small group attention, then a microschool setting might be good.' Since 2020, microschools have spread rapidly all across the U.S., as I document in my new book; but they are particularly popular in states with expansive school-choice programs. These choice-friendly states have passed legislation that enables families to use a portion of state-allocated education funding toward their preferred learning environment. Arkansas is one of the 35 states with a private school choice program, and one of 16 with universal eligibility, applying to all K-12 students. It is also one of the leading states to include microschools in its school-choice programs. Gilmer opened her faith-based K-8 microschool with eight students, all of whom are legally considered homeschoolers but attend her program four full days a week. Her enrollment has nearly doubled in just one year. Part of that growth, says Gilmer, is attributable to the strong academic progress of her students, including those with special learning needs such as ADHD, dyslexia and autism. These positive outcomes are attracting more families. The other part of her growth is that Arkansas microschools and similar learning options are now more accessible than ever due to the state's education savings account (ESA) school-choice program, which was enacted in 2023. 'The ESA makes those options available for families who, honestly, can't afford to pay for microschool tuition out of pocket,' said Gilmer, explaining that all but one of the 15 families enrolled in her microschool for fall are attending tuition-free. She intentionally priced her microschool tuition at $5,900 a year, below the $6,800 annual ESA amount for which each student is eligible. 'The whole purpose of not charging the full amount of the ESA is so that families are able to purchase resources, materials, field trips and other learning experiences that will be approved outside of the microschool,' said Gilmer. Spotting mounting demand for innovative education options, Gilmer is in the process of applying to become an approved educational provider in nearby Alabama, which enacted its universal ESA program last year. 'I'm just waiting for that final approval from Alabama,' said Gilmer. 'They did not give any sense of timing. I'm hoping it will be before August so that students can take advantage of it for the 2025/2026 school year.' The common aim of ESA programs is to enable funding to follow families, but implementation and administration of these programs can vary by state. Clarity around rules and regulations can sometimes be lacking. For example, when the Alabama legislature passed its ESA program, the CHOOSE Act, some foster children were not eligible to participate. Organizations such as the Alabama Policy Institute (API), which has been a strong supporter of school-choice policies, pushed to clarify ESA eligibility during the administrative rulemaking process. 'We were able to make sure that foster kids outside of the scope of our Department of Human Resources were included through the regulatory process,' said Stephanie Smith, API's President and CEO, adding that she worked closely with Big Oak Ranch, an Alabama-based nonprofit that provides a home to kids in need. 'Now, each of their kids has $7,000 for private school.' A new paper published by State Policy Network, of which API is a member, urges transparency through rulemaking to help ensure that the rollout of an ESA program preserves its intended flexibility. Jennifer Wolverton welcomes this transparency. A former engineer and founder of MARS, a STEM-based microschool for homeschoolers in Huntsville, Alabama, Wolverton is thrilled that her families are able to use their ESA funds to access the state-of-the-art technological tools and curriculum she offers. But she also spots limitations in the ESA rollout. 'The CHOOSE Act was meant to expand access, but the current ESA rules can block innovation and burden the very providers working to serve students,' said Wolverton. 'Cutting-edge microschools like MARS don't fit neatly into the old categories of tutor or private school. Yet, we're often forced to navigate rules clearly not written with us in mind.' As education choice policies expand nationwide, education entrepreneurship in choice-friendly states will continue to accelerate. Making it easier for founders to start and scale their new schools and learning models by removing regulatory burdens will boost the variety and abundance of choices available to families. 'Choice is important,' said Gilmer of Arkansas. 'Sometimes we need a hand to help us reach the goals that we have for our children, and ESAs give families those options.'
