We’ve been talking about microschools through the blog and in our town halls over the past few years and recently announced A Big Push for Small Schools, the first grant opportunity from our Learning Innovation Fund. This cohort of grantees is dedicated to driving real change in their community and in the lives of learners through small school models.
As part of our initiative, we convened a group of dynamic microschool leaders and learning providers as a Community of Practice (CoP). The diverse backgrounds and experiences of the participants fostered a solid foundation for collective learning. Through the exchange of ideas, perspectives, and innovative approaches, this dynamic group has contributed to further defining the microschool landscape. Our first CoP focused on the emerging category of microschool incubators.
The Public Microschool Playbook
At this pivotal moment in American education, public microschools provide a transformative approach to meet the evolving needs of learners and the rapidly changing demands of the workforce.
This playbook from Getting Smart Collective, Learner-Centered Collaborative and Transcend covers the What, How and the Why Now? Check it out!
Key Initiatives
Grants
We provide financial support to innovative microschool projects through our grants program. These grants aim to foster the development and scaling of high-quality microschool models that offer personalized, student-centered education. Our grant recipients receive not only funding but also access to a network of resources and technical assistance to ensure their success and sustainability. While we are not actively funding any cohorts for the 2025-2026 school year, you can learn more about our current grantees at the link below.
Community of Practice
Our Community of Practice strands bring together leaders and educators in the microschool landscape to collaborate, share best practices, and address common challenges. This initiative fosters continuous learning, professional growth, and the development of a supportive network, enhancing the quality and impact of microschools.
Storytelling & Sector Analysis
/Through storytelling and ongoing sector analysis, we document and share the diverse stories and models within the microschool movement. This initiative aims to highlight the innovative approaches and successes of microschools, providing valuable insights and inspiration to educators, policymakers, and the broader community. By analyzing and sharing these stories, we help to build a comprehensive understanding of the microschool landscape and its impact on education.
Latest Blogs
Podcasts
Resources
Microschools Serving Unique Student Needs
This resource from Getting Smart explores how microschools across the U.S. are effectively meeting the needs of students who are often underserved in traditional school settings. It highlights examples of microschools serving students with disabilities, those in foster care, students recovering from trauma, and others needing flexible, personalized learning environments. The report showcases innovative approaches to education, such as trauma-informed instruction, individualized pacing, and family-centered support. It emphasizes the importance of community partnerships, learner agency, and adaptive learning models in creating inclusive, student-centered microschool ecosystems.
Microschools Sustainable Growth Strategies
This resource from Getting Smart spotlights multiple microschool models and unpacks how they think about sustaining, growing and providing powerful learning experiences for their learners.
Designing Microschools: Why Launching Small Learning Environments Is a Big Idea
This resource from Getting Smart provides examples of microschools and addresses why you’d want to start a microschool, how to start a microschool and how to know if it is working.
American Microschool Analysis
America’s fast-growing microschooling movement has been described as one of the most exciting education narratives of this generation. This sector analysis from the our partners the National Microschooling Center illuminates important aspects of this dynamic community, including who is leading microschools, their backgrounds, and just how diverse the sector has become in many different important aspects of their work, including main motivating goals, educational approaches, intended outcomes, weekly schedules and funding sources.
Open for Business: The Economics of Everyday Entrepreneurs in Unconventional Education
VELA provides unique insights into the rapidly growing market of unconventional education. To gain a better understanding of the business practices and models used in this nascent landscape, VELA conducted a survey of its community in the fall of 2022. The findings are valuable for entrepreneurs, learners, families, funders, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of education.