{"id":42514,"date":"2020-08-08T10:57:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T17:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/?p=42514"},"modified":"2020-08-14T20:58:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T03:58:32","slug":"some-parents-turn-to-micro-schooling-as-back-to-school-debate-rages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/some-parents-turn-to-micro-schooling-as-back-to-school-debate-rages\/","title":{"rendered":"Some parents turn to micro-schooling as back-to-school debate rages"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rachel Adamus holds her son Paul, 7, on their porch before the bus arrives for the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, in Dallas, Ga.
AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson<\/p><\/div>\n

(Bethany Blankley<\/em>) \u2014 As states and school districts continue to change their back-to-school policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the national debate rages over in-person or virtual learning for instruction, some parents have taken their children\u2019s education into their own hands.<\/p>\n

A new form of quasi-homeschooling, called micro-schooling, is emerging. In this not-so-new format, neighboring families have decided to educate their children in a modern version of the 19th century era one-room schoolhouse.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a difference, Matt Candler, founder of 4.0 Schools, notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes a modern micro-school different from a 19th century, one-room schoolhouse is that old school schools only had a few ways to teach\u200a\u2014\u200acertainly no software, no tutors, and probably less structure around student to student learning,”\u00a0Chandler says.\u00a0“In a modern micro-school, there are ways to get good data from each of these venues. And the great micro-school of the future will lean on well-designed software to help adults evaluate where each kid is learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Micro-schooling can involve 10 students or less, all at varying ages. The structure allows for extreme flexibility, proponents argue, and the content and approach to learning is determined by the parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe model of a micro school is evolving,\u201d the\u00a0Micro School Network<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0states. \u201cMost are characterized by small learning communities made up of students working in mixed age groups. Teachers in micro schools do more guiding and less lecturing, and there is extensive use of digital and online resources to create personalized learning paths. Micro schools tend to emphasize project-based learning and community involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The network provides a platform for families to locate the right school for their children, as well as educational resources. Its \u201cschool finder\u201d tool helps parents locate the best microschool for their child\u2019s needs. They can search according to a student\u2019s age, type of school, school attributes, and zip code.<\/p>\n

Microschooling allows for personalized learning and individual attention with teachers, while also enabling students to learn in a multiage environment,\u00a0Nevada Action for School Options<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>explains. Instruction includes core classes of English language arts, math, science, and social studies, but also includes outdoor and other activities tailored to meet the students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

Nevada Action recently launched\u00a0MicroschoolingNV<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in June and created a survey to help match parents and families with schooling options that best fit their needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies can do this, parents can lead microschools,\u201d says Ashley Campbell, chief of staff at\u00a0Nevada Action for School Options<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cWhile opening up a schooling group might seem intimidating, parents leading these groups are doing amazing things all over the country, and it really is easier than you might think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell says that while there are many licensed teachers opening micro-schools this fall, parents don\u2019t have to be licensed teachers to lead or participate in one.<\/p>\n

Micro-schooling takes different forms in different states depending on state laws. In Arizona, they operate as charter schools, in other states, as private schools.<\/p>\n

Some families view micro-schooling as a permanent solution to their ongoing frustration with traditional schools not meeting their children\u2019s needs. Others see it as a flexible, temporary solution to an immediate problem.<\/p>\n

A recent\u00a0Ipsos poll<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0found that more than half of the respondents who are parents with a school-aged child said they were very or somewhat likely to switch to at-home learning.<\/p>\n

\n

By<\/p>\n

Bethany Blankley<\/a> | The Center Square<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Bethany Blankley) \u2014 As states and school districts continue to change their back-to-school policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the national debate rages over in-person or virtual learning for instruction, some parents have taken their children\u2019s education into their own hands. A new form of quasi-homeschooling, called micro-schooling, is emerging. In this not-so-new format, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88912,"featured_media":42515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[748],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42514"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42533,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42514\/revisions\/42533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nevadanewsandviews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}