{{short description|Reinvention of the one-room school house}}
'''Microschooling''' is the reinvention of the one-room schoolhouse, where class size is typically smaller than that in most schools.
== Historical antecedents== Microschooling has been described as a modern incarnation of the one-room schoolhouse.<ref name=Kamenetz2014>{{cite web|author=Anya Kamenetz|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/07/02/326196530/the-return-of-the-one-room-schoolhouse|title=The Return Of The One-Room Schoolhouse|publisher=NPR |date=July 2, 2014}}</ref> In the United States, approximately 150,000 single-teacher schools operated in the early 1930s, but fewer than 400 operated as of 2005; school sizes became larger throughout the 20th century, driven by increased urbanization, the popularization of the school bus, and education professionalization and standardization.<ref name=Kamenetz2014/>
==21st-century United States== In the 21st-century United States, microschools are very small forms of private schools; they are often registered with the state as homeschooling operations.<ref name=Goldstein2024>Dana Goldstein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/us/public-schools-education-voucher-microschools.html A School With 7 Students: Inside the 'Microschools' Movement], ''New York Times'' (June 17, 2024).</ref> U.S. microschools typically enroll fewer students than in a single traditional-school classroom.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> Enrollment varies from a handful to several dozen.<ref name=Kamenetz2014/> Many emerge from collectives of homeschooling families that pool resources to hire a teacher.<ref name=Kamenetz2014/> Some microschools emphasize different topics or approaches, such as project-based learning, the arts, or the Socratic method.<ref name=Kamenetz2014/> About two-thirds of U.S. microschools are operated by licensed or formerly licensed schoolteachers.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> Some microschools are Christian, while others are secular.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> Some microschools meet in homes, churches, or storefronts.<ref name=Goldstein2024/>
The National Microschooling Center is an advocacy group for the movement; it estimated that as of the 2023–24 school year there were 95,000 microschools and homeschooling "pods" in the U.S. nationwide, with more than one million students participating.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> A survey by the group found that 40% percent of microschool students were previously enrolled in public school, while another third were previously homeschooled.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> The popularity of microschools increased sharply in the 2020s for several reasons, including disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, more government funding through school choices initiatives, and the increasing popularity of education savings accounts.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> As of 2023, about one-third of microschools received public funding as part of school voucher-type programs.<ref name=Goldstein2024/>
Many microschools are unregulated; in some states, curricula is not overseen, facilities are not inspected, and staff background checks are optional.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> However, some microschools operate four or five days each week, have full-time teachers and formal curricula, and use standardized tests.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> Because microschools are often considered homeschools, most microschools do not require accreditation.<ref name=HillMicro>[https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/4574859-the-us-is-experiencing-a-boom-in-microschools-what-are-they/ The US is experiencing a boom in microschools. What are they?], ''The Hill'', Nexstar Media Group (2024).</ref> However, some microschools have sought and received accreditation as private schools.<ref name=Goldstein2024/> In a National Microschooling Center survey of 400 microschools, shared with the newspaper ''The Hill'' in 2024, 16% of microschools reported that they were accredited.<ref name=HillMicro/> A few microschools have grown large enough to no longer be considered "micro."<ref name=Goldstein2024/>
A 2014 NPR article cited Brightworks of San Francisco, the Brooklyn Apple Academy and Austin, Texas's Acton Academy as examples of microschools.<ref name=Kamenetz2014/> The now-closed startups AltSchool<ref name=Kamenetz2014/> and CottageClass<ref>{{cite web|url=https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2018/03/01/cottageclass-homeschooling-startup|title=Brooklyn's new thing is taking your kids out of school and using this startup instead|work=Technical.ly Brooklyn|date=1 March 2018|publisher=|accessdate=26 July 2018}}</ref> supported microschools. Prenda is a VC-backed company<ref name=Lunden2022>Ingrid Lunden, [https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/13/prenda-raises-20m-led-by-776-to-build-tech-to-run-k-8-microschools/ Prenda raises $20M led by 776 to build tech to run K-8 microschools], ''TechCrunch'' (June 13, 2022).</ref> that has helped more than a thousand people start their own microschools.
Microschool tuition can vary widely. Some, like The Beekman School in Manhattan, which has classes of six or seven students and has been called a microschool, charge tuition of $50,000 or more.<ref name=Kamenetz2014/> However, the recent expansion of microschools has seen lower-cost offerings, with tuition as low as $6,200.<ref>Clare Bates, [https://www.prenda.com/post/starting-a-microschool What to consider when starting a Prenda microschool], ''Prenda Blog'' (February 26, 2025).</ref>
Some microschools have emerged from more traditional schools. For example, in 2024, the Purdue Polytechnic High School Lab School established a microschool in Indianapolis for 20 of its high school students who were identified as students who could benefit from a personalized curriculum and greater social-emotional resources.<ref>Aleksandra Appleton, [https://www.chalkbeat.org/indiana/2024/04/16/indianapolis-charter-school-creates-microschool-to-customize-education/ Inside a unique public microschool in Indianapolis], ''Chalkbeat Indiana'' (April 16, 2024).</ref>
==Outside the United States== In 2007, a UK Conservative Party task force headed by Iain Duncan Smith recommended that the party propose "Pioneer schools" (jointly led by parents and charities) as a policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556740/Tories-propose-parent-run-pioneer-schools.html|title=Tories propose parent-run 'pioneer schools'|author=Brendan Carlin|date=6 July 2007|newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref>
==See also== *Small schools movement *Class size
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Alternative education Category:Homeschooling in the United States