Independent Microschools

You make the choices. The Center backs you up.

Independent microschools are built by people who don’t wait for permission. A single founder, a tight-knit team, a community with a spark. These schools are small by design, nimble by nature, and shaped entirely by the people bold enough to build them.

As an independent microschool leader, the calls are yours. You decide the schedule. You choose the curriculum, remix it, or throw it out entirely. You pick the space. You choose when the doors open and what happens once learners are inside.

You’re in the driver’s seat.
We’re in the pit crew.

The Center offers free trainings, practical tools, real community, and one-on-one support when you want it. No templates that box you in. No top-down rules. Just support, research and resources that respect the fact that this is your microschool.

Build it your way. We’ve got your back.

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Trusted by over 2,000 microschools nationwide.

Microschool founders come to the Center because they’re done playing by rules that were never written for them and they want guidance with backbone. Research-driven, field-tested, and founder-first. We stand shoulder to shoulder with founders nationwide, helping them turn brave ideas into durable microschools without diluting their autonomy.

Guidance
Trainings

Running a microschool takes more than vision. The Center offers trainings for founders and their teams, covering the unglamorous, essential, and game-changing stuff: operations, instruction, culture, marketing, and family communication. Through the National Microschooling Center Training Institute, we offer both live and on-demand learning, and in a growing number of states, those hours count toward teacher licensure requirements. This is professional development built for the future, not borrowed from the past.
Community

A single Center membership unlocks nationwide community for your entire team, giving you access to learning tools, focused cohorts, and real conversations with people who actually get this work. Our members-only space is built to be safe, closed and founder-led. Ask hard questions, workshop ideas, vent, iterate and get honest feedback without worrying about parents, reporters, regulators, or drive-by opinions watching from the sidelines. This is community with guardrails, depth, and trust and it’s designed to help microschools grow stronger.
Resources

The Center’s resources are built for people doing the work. You get access to practical learning tools that otherwise require bulk-district purchasing, founder-tested samples, original research, and real-world guidance you can put to use immediately. Through the Center, you also unlock discounted access to trusted service providers who understand microschools, from legal and insurance support to curriculum and operations. Add in national research, field insights, and tools that grow with you, and you’re not just collecting resources, you’re tapping into an ecosystem designed to help microschools launch stronger, run smarter, and stay independent.

How is an independent microschool different from homeschooling, pods, or private schools?

Independent microschools often feel similar to homeschool co-ops, learning pods, or small private schools, but the difference is intention and structure. Microschools are deliberately designed learning environments built around relationships, flexibility and innovation. Depending on your state, an independent microschool may operate under homeschool law, as a licensed nonpublic school, or within another legal framework entirely. The National Microschooling Center helps founders understand their state-specific options and choose the path that fits their vision, values, and community.
Do I need to be a licensed teacher to start one?

No, though depending on the state that you're in, the state framework may require different ways of organizing if you're not a licensed educator or administrator. While more than half of microschool leaders are current or former licensed educators, licensure is not required to start an independent microschool. Founders come from many backgrounds, including educators, parents, industry professionals and community leaders. The Center supports founders at every starting point from various backgrounds and experiences, helping you build the skills, systems, and confidence needed to launch and lead a strong microschool.
Are independent microschools legal in my state?

Yes, independent microschools are legal across the country, but the way they operate varies by state. Some founders operate under homeschool laws, others as licensed or registered nonpublic schools, and in a growing number of states, microschools are explicitly recognized in law. Additional regulations like zoning, child care, food handling, etc may also apply. The National Microschooling Center helps you understand your state’s specific landscape and navigate overlapping regulations so you can choose the path that aligns with your vision.
Can I design my own learning model?

Yes! Independent microschools are built around the real students who walk through your door, not a one-size-fits-all system. You choose the learning model, whether that means using a curriculum you love, building your own, blending multiple approaches, or throwing out a curriculum altogether. Microschools are designed to adapt and evolve, keeping what works and changing what doesn’t as students grow. With support from the Center, you’ll have access to learning tools, cohorts focused on multi-age learning and specific learning models, along with the Center’s newly launching Measuring Impact Design Lab to help you measure and share out both academic and non-academic growth.
How do independent microschools usually fund themselves?

Most independent microschools are primarily funded through tuition, with over half relying on tuition as their main revenue source. In a growing number of states, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) or other school choice funds are available and about 38 percent of microschools currently access these options. The Center helps founders understand the funding landscape in their state and explore approaches to setting a sustainable yet accessible tuition like sliding-scale pricing.
How do families find microschools?
Can an independent microschool grow or replicate?

Yes. The Center has helped independent microschools choose to grow beyond a single site and helped others transition into a provider network that helps others launch their own microschool replicating an original model. Growth can take many forms, from opening a second location to sharing your model more broadly. That said, growth is never required. Many microschools are intentionally designed to stay small. The Center helps you explore your options and make thoughtful decisions about what smart growth, or staying small, looks like for you.
When should I reach out to the Center for help?

Anytime! Whether you’re just exploring the idea of starting a microschool, actively planning your launch or already serving learners, the Center is here to support you. Founders reach out at every stage, from early questions and big-picture decisions to day-to-day challenges and long-term growth. There’s no “too early” or “too late.” If you’re building, dreaming, or even just curious, you’re in the right place.
What Center resources are available at no cost?

The Center offers a wide range of free resources to support microschool founders and their teams at every stage. This includes access to trainings, monthly webinars shaped by the real questions founders are asking, and open office hours with members of the Center team. Founders can also tap into practical tools, guidance, and timely insights designed to help you make informed decisions and move forward with confidence. Many founders start here and continue to return as their needs evolve.
Who will I actually be learning from at the Center?

You’ll be learning from people who have built and led microschools themselves. The Center’s team is made up of experienced microschool founders, including the Center’s founders, Don and Ashley, who bring firsthand knowledge of what it takes to design, launch, and sustain schools in the real world. You’ll also learn from trusted industry experts, including insurance professionals, business leaders, and other specialists, who lead targeted trainings on the areas founders need most. The result is practical guidance rooted in experience, not theory.