Staffing is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make when launching a microschool. In a small, relationship-centered environment, every team member plays multiple roles—educator, advisor, problem-solver, and connector. The individual(s) you hire must be flexible, collaborative, and deeply aligned with the mission of your microschool. Because there are fewer people on staff, each person has a more significant impact on school culture, learner outcomes, and operational success.

This alignment goes beyond qualifications and experience. It includes mindset, values, and a belief in the school’s purpose. Microschool educators must see themselves as entrepreneurs, co-creating a fundamentally new experience for students. To secure this kind of alignment, consider strategies such as targeted recruitment, values-based interview questions, and partnering with union leaders where relevant to prioritize mission-fit in staffing decisions.

Staffing decisions also determine the legal, logistical, and financial structure of your school. Whether your microschool operates under a school district umbrella, as a charter school, or through another governance model, you’ll need to understand how employment policies apply, including benefits, retirement plans, and collective bargaining agreements. Securing access to essential employee benefits, such as healthcare, insurance, and pensions, may require additional coordination or negotiation, depending on how your microschool is authorized and funded. Thoughtful planning in this area ensures that your team is supported, your model is sustainable, and your microschool is well-positioned for long-term success.

Guiding Questions

• What are the state and school system certification requirements for teachers and school leaders?
• Are there required staff-to-student ratios or other regulatory staffing requirements?
• What are the expectations outlined in local collective bargaining agreements?
• How will the grading authority work, especially for secondary courses and credit-bearing subjects?
• How many staff members will you need, and what roles will they be responsible for?
• What qualifications and dispositions will be most important to fulfill your microschool’s mission?
• What will staff titles, roles, and pay structures look like?
• Will staff be full-time, part-time, or year-round employees?
• Who will supervise and evaluate microschool staff, and how will this role be connected to existing system structures?
• What benefits (healthcare, retirement, insurance) will your staff receive, and how will those be administered?
  • Will your microschool be part of the school system’s benefits platform?
  • If independent, can you access the state system or negotiate buy-in through a third party?

Action Steps

Familiarize yourself with state and system regulations, and consider how to navigate them. The table below outlines some common categories related to staffing regulations, key points to understand about them, and potential ways to navigate them to support your public microschool’s vision. 

Note: This list is not comprehensive, and workarounds must be legal, approved, and prioritize the best interests of your students and families.

Apply what you have learned to finalize your staffing plans. This will require you to toggle between your school vision, budget, and school system requirements. You may also revisit your plans for the population you’ll serve (e.g., will you have the necessary staff and conditions to support learners with special needs?) and the curriculum and resources you’ll use to help you maximize the small number of people you employ and supplement any gaps in skill or experience.

Coordinate with HR and legal teams. Work closely with system leadership (or charter authorizers) to ensure compliance with hiring, benefits, and labor regulations.

Draft staffing plans and job descriptions. Ensure they reflect the flexibility, collaboration, and multi-role expectations of the microschool environment.

Plan for professional learning. Build in structures for onboarding, coaching, and collaborative planning that reflect your learning model and team culture.

Tips and Examples

• It’s okay to be scrappy at the beginning. A school can successfully be staffed by a single person if there is a clear understanding of what they can do, how they will be supervised, and how they will be supported.
  According to Vela, some microschools begin as a one-person show. Since there are many tools available (like this playbook!) that help people navigate the “back of house” details (e.g., budget, governance), it’s most important to hire someone with the skills to work with learners, which requires a different kind of expertise.

• Leverage non-traditional teachers to supplement student learning. Just because your microschool may not have a robust enough staff to offer a range of electives does not mean diverse learning experiences are unavailable to them. We recommend working with your local community to identify volunteer guest teachers.
• Consider new educator roles. The best teachers are expert facilitators and thinkers who support students in their learning without needing deep expertise in every area. Support may involve pointing a student to resources, learning together, or referring them to an expert for additional assistance.

Opportunity and Access

It is crucial that microschools do not inadvertently contribute to school segregation by race, language, income, or ability. We want public microschools to increase access to high-quality, free options for all, not just some families. In our long-term vision for public microschooling, a system will gradually be able to offer a variety of small learning environments that cater to different needs, allowing every learner and family to find their “just right” fit. 

As we build toward that future, it is critically important to consider what your staff will be able to offer your student population and how to make that offering inclusive and desirable, particularly for marginalized groups. Of course, this does not mean a microschool serving a small number of learners will be able to accommodate every learning need. Instead, it means that you must be crystal clear about your mission, what you will offer to meet it, what you will not be able to do, and why.