With Parents Seeking More Personalized Education Options, 2024 Could Be an Ideal Time to Launch a New School or Learning Model

Insights from 10 Educational Entrepreneurs

As parents across the nation seek personalized education options for their children, 2024 presents itself as an opportune time for aspirational educational entrepreneurs to launch innovative schools or learning models. With a growing demand for educational alternatives, visionary leaders have the chance to shape the future of education by creating learning environments that cater to the unique needs of students.

1. Listen to Families:

Mercedes Grant, founder of Path of Life Learning, a K-8 microschool in Yorktown, Virginia, emphasizes the significance of listening to families. She underscores the importance of building a model that aligns with their needs and tapping into the support of individuals who have successfully overcome educational barriers.

2. See Beyond the Existing System:

Josh Pickel, founder of Canton Learning Collaborative, a full-time self-directed learning center for teens in Canton, Illinois, encourages aspiring founders to consider their values, embrace boldness, and separate themselves from the traditional school system. He believes in creating new educational models that cater to students who don’t fit into the conventional system.

3. Don’t Ignore Your Instincts:

Heather DiNino, founder of Elements Academy, a learner-directed PreK-12 microschool in Braintree, Massachusetts, urges aspiring founders to trust their inner voice when it prompts them to open a school. She stresses the importance of meeting the needs of students who deserve something different, more meaningful, and life-preparatory.

4. Break the Mold:

Lizette Valles, founder of Ellemercito Academy, an experiential, learner-centered microschool in Los Angeles, California, encourages founders to break the mold, even if it’s daunting. She emphasizes the fulfilling and transformative nature of this work, which involves guiding, mentoring, inspiring, and learning from students while inspiring the next generation of world changers.

5. Be Part of the Change You Want to See:

Sharon Masinelli, founder of St. John the Baptist Hybrid School, a K-12 hybrid homeschool program in Kennesaw, Georgia, highlights the need for innovative educational options and encourages aspiring founders to heed the calling for education reform. She believes that a unique vision and mission to meet the educational needs of all children will bring great rewards.

6. Seize This Innovative Moment in Time:

Jack Johnson Pannell, founder of Trinity Arch Preparatory School for Boys, a private microschool in Phoenix, Arizona, sees this as an energizing moment for visionary education entrepreneurs to push forward on a new frontier in education. He expresses gratitude for the support from parents and others in Arizona and believes that the future of education is here.

7. Know Your Limits:

Devan Dellenbach, founder of Re*Wild Family Academy, a home-based K-12 microschool in rural Abbyville, Kansas, emphasizes the importance of knowing one’s strengths, passions, and limits. She realized that trying to serve everyone would lead to recreating the inefficient system that prioritizes efficiency over quality and educator well-being. This realization freed her to create a school that she could sustain based on her unique talents, passions, and limitations.

8. Keep Experimenting:

Danelle Folz-Smith, founder of Acton Academy Venice Beach, a K-12 school in Venice, California, encourages aspiring founders to keep experimenting, moving things forward, and listening to the young heroes. She believes that the world is ready for new education models and that change is needed and deserved by young people.

9. Maintain Confidence While Swimming Against the Current:

Troy Salazar, founder of Liberty Self-Directed Learning Center, a full-time K-12 learning center for homeschoolers in Des Moines, Iowa, acknowledges the challenges of deschooling from a lifetime spent in the conventional school system and the uneasy feelings that come with going against the grain. He emphasizes the importance of seeking reassurance from literature on self-directed education and reminds aspiring founders that they are not alone and that their work is good, needed, and purposeful.

10. Always Remember You’re Helping to Change the World:

Tara Cassidy, founder of Crossroad Trails Education Center, a full-time K-12 microschool in the Kansas City area, believes that small progress towards building alternative education ends up changing the world. She launched her program in August 2022 and is now at capacity with over 30 students and a long waiting list.

With a growing demand for personalized education options and the support of like-minded individuals, 2024 presents an opportune moment for educational entrepreneurs to launch innovative schools or learning models. By listening to families, breaking the mold, experimenting, and maintaining confidence, these visionary leaders can shape the future of education and make a lasting impact on the lives of students.