As I mopped the floors at 5:00 on a Friday afternoon, I reflected on another week at my little school. As the janitor, nurse, teacher, and school administrator, I was exhausted. But my reflections while mopping helped me to see the beauty of the school week. The children had engaged in learning at their own pace, we spent time in nature and in our neighborhood parks, they were fed healthy meals where almost all children ate their vegetables, and above all they had care/connection with their school space and community. It certainly wasn’t all roses, but my story of opening a microschool is much like many educators- I desired more autonomy, I wanted to be embedded in the community I lived in, and I hoped that students could learn in a more innovative way. With over 72% of parents considering a new school for their children in 2024, parents and teachers alike are seeking something different. The current education system works for many, but not for all.
Our country was built on the model of a one room school house. With districts forming to meet community needs, students’ learning was individualized in a small school setting, often with children ranging from 5 to 18 years old. Although we can’t idealize this form of education (just read a Laura Ingalls Wilder book to remember how these schools worked), it gives a historical point in the evolution of our industrialized education system. With the release of the new Public Microschool Playbook, their words say it best:
“Over time, industrialization led to the development of large-scale, standardized schooling designed for efficiency. While that model supported a mass-production economy, it is increasingly misaligned with the needs of today’s learners and tomorrow’s workforce. Throughout the decades, interest in smaller learning environments has ebbed and flowed, but today’s microschool movement is not about going back in time. Instead, it builds on what we know works in small, community-rooted schools while leveraging new innovations to design future-ready learning environments.”
The playbook defines microschools in this way: “While small size is a common feature, we also define microschools as those that provide meaningful personalization, operational flexibility, and serve students for the majority of their learning experience.” In speaking to many microschool leaders across Colorado in the past year, I have felt momentum for a renewed excitement in education. From rural communities with very few options for choice, to urban city folks trying to navigate a sea of school choices, there are a range of reasons behind the energy of the microschool movement in Colorado. That being said, sustainability without more public options makes microschools isolating and fragile. Today, I hope to share with you some nuggets of hope that gave me pause in my work. I interviewed four microschool leaders, one from a very rural community, and three serving Aurora and Denver. Despite their geographic differences, there are many similarities in these leaders and their schools. In each of the interviews I did with microschool leaders, I left with questions about the ways in which these schools could be a model for public districts, or in one case, the need to form its own microschool charter network. The following is a synopsis of those questions and examples of schools that might help to lead by example.
“There are no wall flowers in a school of 12 children, everything is individualized,” said Charaki Yeomans of Rocky Stars Community Campus. Although there are 8 rural, public, and far apart schools in her district, the choices all look the same. Most of her students have been to 3 different school options before finding her microschool. With social emotional learning at the forefront of the school’s day, Charaki is working to change the narrative for students that have educational trauma. Utilizing a mastery based approach, Charaki and her assistant Amanda Hernandez teach students one on one or in small groups. Each student has goals set by their teachers, but they have choices in how they want to meet those goals and at what time. “We teach them how to be a part of the community, set manageable goals, how to take care of school property and their things, how to manage their time, prepare their own lunch, take care of materials and respect our school environment,” Charaki explained to me. Like many microschools, she serves a higher population of students with IEPs, yet with each learner-centered and individualized goal program, all students’ needs are met at their level. What could districts learn from this model of individualized instruction, particularly for special education? Could a public school district utilize the model of a microschool for students with IEPs to meet their needs in a more inclusive, learner-centered environment?
The classroom and group learning looks different at Rocky Stars Community Campus:
“Every time I get upset, my old teacher would give me a laptop to play games to calm down,” said a student at Global Ex Academy in Aurora. Starting small with only 3-5 students at any given time, Dr. Jenaya Perdue knew she wanted to create a completely screen-free school environment. Utilizing the magic of books and mastery based curriculum, Dr. J is able to meet students’ needs and help them to learn skills of tenacity in pushing themselves. As a world traveler and highly educated teacher, Dr. J realized early on that teaching a class of 28-32 students wasn’t what she wanted. Managing a classroom of that many children didn’t help the students to learn or to bring out her best self as a human. By creating an autonomous school environment, she is able to adapt to each child’s needs, help everyone find more joy, and provide an additional option for Black and Brown students who were not being met by the public school. Could districts retain more teachers, particularly teachers of color, by allowing autonomy in a public microschool setting? Could the more intimate nature of public microschools serve our Black and Brown students better?
A student finding joy in screen-free learning at Globael Ex Academy:
Both Rocky Stars and Global Ex were born out of a desire to change student outcomes, but La Luz (co-located in a DPS School building) has sought to change public school education since its inception 4 years ago. “We are a Lab school trying to impact the public education system. We have the same population as DPS and the same per pupil spending, but we are trying to give students drastically different outcomes,” said Dr. Kyle Gamba, the founder of La Luz. Spending two hours each morning in small groups or tutoring sessions on core academics, La Luz students then have the opportunity to engage in learning outside the classroom. “Our kids will be outside/outdoors for 25% of the year. We are out of the school building 95% of the year,” said Dr. Gamba. These learning studios and intensives take place at community hubs- the Colorado History Museum, the Zoo, or even our state Capitol. La Luz builds out the curriculum for each of these experiences and engages in a partnership with each community hub. This provides an enriching experience with both teachers and community members guiding student’s learning. Students are rarely sitting in desks and regurgitating information- instead they are experiencing it first hand in the city they live in.
Can a microschool provide a model for alternative ways of learning and assessing students? Can a smaller setting allow for more fluidity- seeing one’s community as the classroom instead of learning as limited to sitting in desks?
As a child, Martha Brigg’s family immigrated to the United States. Having a language barrier and being new, Martha experienced the educational trauma of being bullied and left out. This significantly impacted the type of school she wanted to create when she joined Wildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado (WMPSC). WMPSC is built on the model of community nestled schools that provide free, high quality Montessori education to all. To create the state’s first microschool charter, they were first rejected for charters in a couple of districts before being released to CSI. Each school serves up to 30 students and offers choice to many more families who are looking for a small school setting for their child. In Martha’s case, she feels proud that the school is located in her home community and that she is able to speak Spanish with parents. She also incorporates Spanish into the classroom with instructions and songs so that children can be exposed to both English and Spanish. The nature of the Montessori method provides a curriculum that is steeped in both community and a more individualized way of learning- meeting students’ needs for understanding how they as growing individuals impact their community every day. It is Brigg’s top priority to create a safe and respectful environment, because no child should endure the educational trauma that she experienced as a child. Being a part of a network of other charter microschools also allows for collaboration and partnership. “Having other eyes and ears on decisions you might be making along the way is extremely beneficial”, said Briggs.
What can districts learn about the success of the Wildflower Montessori Public Schools of Colorado? How can districts be open to more innovative ways of educating students?
The problem of isolation in opening microschools was clearly evident with my first three interviews of school leaders. These individuals were asked to do it all- school leader, teacher, nurse, janitor, SPED director, business manager, and the list goes on. If districts were to embrace more public microschool options, leaders would be able to utilize district services for many of these roles and ideally focus more of their time on students in the community. Out of a desire to create more community among these pockets of innovation, CultivatED Colorado is working to create an ecosystem across the state to help each of these schools find a more sustainable rhythm to do their work well. Whether a school is currently independent or public, CultivatED Colorado is beginning a pilot year offering a range of services to help coach leaders through initial startup, offer operational support, and connect them through convenings of other innovative school leaders. CultivatED Colorado was created with the belief that when we equip educational innovators with the necessary infrastructure, community, and the freedom to adapt to their unique context, we create the conditions for education to evolve from the ground up. These aren’t just isolated experiments; they’re the foundation of a new public school movement. Collectivizing helps this movement grow roots, reducing the fragility of microschools and amplifying their impact. CultivatED Colorado is helping ensure that what’s possible for one becomes possible for many. The hope is to position Colorado as a national model for learner-centered, community-driven education, where innovation is not the exception, but the expectation.
As I reflect back to my own school opening experience, I feel thankful for every lesson I learned. There is nothing “micro” about opening a “microschool”, but the quality of schooling that a child can receive in a small setting can be greatly increased. As we look for ways to “fix” our public school system, why not begin to make a new path forward? The Horizon Three Framework by Getting Smart Schools states we need a new system, “one that is grounded in equity serving learners’ individual strengths and needs as well as the common good.” Could public microschools create a new paradigm for learning? Could they open the doors to create more accessible, community centered, autonomous learning environments that truly nurture our children and help teachers to thrive?
Until there are districts willing to take a risk in Colorado, we may never know.
Written By: Sarah Johnson
Sarah Johnson is an educational entrepreneur, novice farmer, and mother to two DPS children. She believes that education can be...
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