Micro-schools, Hybrids, Co-ops and Charter schools
The shift in home education is outsourcing
Does the vision of homeschool draw and repel you at the same time?
You want this idyllic seeming education for your kids, but the thought of being in charge of it is daunting (and frankly, overwhelming). So you put your ear to the ground and find out that there’s a co-op in your town for homeschool families like yours. You discover that you can drop off your kids for a few hours and someone else will do the “homeschooling” a couple days a week. All you need to do is keep up with homework and do a little extra on the off days.
The idea is that your kids will get the friends they crave, predictable lessons, and you’ll get the support you want to ensure you don’t make mistakes or leave something un-taught.
For many families, this feels optimal! But I also hear some of the frustrations with this model as well. I am going to do a series on this topic for the next few weeks. I hope you’ll join me.
What changed since the 1990s?
Thirty years ago, homeschoolers mostly operated as solo educators in their living rooms. Lots of moms, in particular, did not work outside the home. Many did not have an income. Their primary energy was directed to being a career educator for their kids. The internet either hadn’t opened its doors yet or was brand new. Curriculum choices were few and mostly viewed at in-person conferences.
Today’s parents must shop online for curriculum, often not holding it in their hands before they click “Buy.” They try to squeeze home education into already busy lives which includes hours devoted to “for pay work.”
Let’s tackle today’s fears, the way they have been reported to me.
Many families have two parents bringing in an income. That means there are fewer hours to devote to homeschooling itself and the preparation that is a part of being a home educator. These parents want the perks but without the full scale responsibility.
Research into homeschool materials has never felt more overwhelming. Before 2020, there were approximately 7,400 online businesses that served education (both home and traditional school). After 2020, the homeschool market exploded! There are now more than 145,000 similar businesses now, including a massive “gold rush” from big startups seeking to cash in on this movement. Some of these larger businesses are not necessarily built for education goals but profits. Sorting through that many options feels tedious and immobilizing. How do you know what is tested and effective? Who do you trust?
Today’s parents were raised in a school environment that prioritized state testing. As kids, they grew up with a strong sense of obligation to performance (grades, scores) as proof of learning. For some parents, letting go of the scholastic metrics set by public schools is difficult. They struggle to trust an alternative form of education. These alternative schools feel like a compromise between the twin goals—creative learning, academic rigor.
In today’s digital world, parents more than ever want their kids off their devices and forming relationships with real human beings. The quest for friends seems more urgent for today’s homeschool families. Small cottage schools seem like they balance both the innovative strategies to learning while providing the community of a school.
How’s that working out?
Today’s homeschooler is faced with an unfortunate set of choices, as a result—to be alone in a house homeschooling their children without friends while trying to work, to join forces with an existing co-op (often very religious or explicitly secular), to enroll in a hybrid school or micro-school where someone else determines the curriculum and hires teachers, or to create their own weekly meet up day with a few family friends.
Any of these options can work and each has a downside.
I hear from lots and lots of parents. They tell me that they start out feeling relieved to be a part of these small schools. When they team up with other parents, they feel more confident and less alone.
After a year or two, however, I often hear comments like these:
The teacher wants my child to write every day. My child hates it but I don’t want to disappoint the teacher. My kid loves his friends at co-op. I don’t know what to do.
What felt like freedom suddenly feels like school when homework is treated like it matters more than a child’s level of curiosity and investment—the very thing that usually attracts any of us to being home educators.
I was okay with being in the co-op until I discovered that my values clashed with the rest of the group. It started after the pandemic. I don’t know how to go forward.
Sometimes we change perspectives and the terms of the micro-school no longer match what we now believe. Our kids face losing valuable friendships and so do we, the home educators!
I feel like all we do is drive. When I decided to homeschool, I thought we’d have this cozy life. Instead, everyone is tired from the commute and on the days we don’t have “school",” everyone wants to just chill out to recover from the co-op.
Some parents don’t like the curriculum choices.
Some don’t like the format of the teaching.
Some don’t like the feeling that they aren’t really homeschooling like they thought they would!
Many parents figure out a pattern that does work for them. My own family had a 5 family co-op that did a school-subject based party each month together. And when my kids got a little older, we joined a one-day per week co-op with electives.
What I wish for those who are in these dilemmas is the freedom to feel like you get to have the education you imagined when you decided to bring your kids home. I also wish for today’s parents to feel confident enough to say “no” to co-op homework if that is right for the child, or to opt out of a program and use the right one for your family.
There are lots of ways to homeschool and we’ll examine them over the next few weeks.
I will continue this series, but would love to hear from you.
How’s it going out there?
Do you like your micro-school experience or do you wish for something else?
What do you wish you had that would support you best?
If you run a co-op or teach in one and wonder how to incorporate Brave Writer, I’m doing a webinar on July 15 that may help you! It’s the last one of the day on Day One of our FREE virtual Summer Camp.
Let’s hear from you below!
We tried a hybrid out second year and my child and I both hated it. I didn't enjoy the school feeling or the expectations for testing.
We ended up finding a one day a week homeschool theatre and arts class that has been perfect! A consistent group of peers, not a core subject or academic rigor, arts exposure and learning while I get 4 hours of time with my toddlers, to run errands, do prep work. It's been a great balance for our family.
I personally do not want a traditional co-op that looks like conventional schools with multiple subjects a day and homework. That feels very schooly. I’d be better off sending my kids to public or private schools if there’s no difference with what I do at home. We tried a weekly drop-off program for a couple years, but in the end, drop-off programs don’t build a community, and we need a community in homeschooling world. Right now, I’m building a non-traditional co-op with a couple friends. With this changing landscape of homeschoolers due to school choice vouchers, it’s important to find “partners-in-crime” who care about the heart of education and are dedicated.