Data: Microschool Leaders Wear Lots of Hats

In our 2024 Sector Analysis the Center analyzed data received for 400 microschools representing 41 states. 

We asked “How many staff, other than yourself and cofounder if applicable, do you have?” and here is what we learned:

• The most common staffing arrangement, for one in four microschools, is for founders to be supported by two or three staff members, who may be but are not always full-time personnel.
• One-third of microschools are run by the founders with no more than one other full- or part-time staff member, while 15% of microschools have no other staff than the founders themselves. 
  We often talk about the many hats that microschool founders wear, and for these in seven, they truly are doing it all and all on their own. 
• One in seven microschools reported having more than ten full- or part-time staff members supporting founders regularly.

The research process did not ask respondents to make any distinctions regarding whether staff members were full- or part-time, or to further characterize their role.  These staff members may be  leading or supporting as teaching guides or specialists, or therapists or other noneducation roles. In some cases they are team members who live and work outside of the state entirely, teaching remotely. The microschool models are so varied and diverse that the range of staffing options seems limitless. 

While researchers are increasingly asking to access the sector, increasing understanding may also be beneficial to designing tools or programs for microschools, understanding their staffing arrangements, which leads to understanding their time constraints, can most beneficial.