Spectacular Academics in a Peaceful, Compassionate Environment: West Virginia Founder Michael Parsons

Vandalia Community School opened its doors to learners ages 6-18 in August 2022. The microschool's mission is build and maintain a community where learners from any background can grow and learn in a peaceful and compassionate environment. In addition to a spectacular academic program, students learn what it is like to engage in community inside and outside of our school, spend time in nature, care for their environment, and take an active role in managing their day.

What is one unique (or uncommon) feature of your microschool experience your learners and families tell you they especially value?

We have a community of students and families that is diverse in many ways. We have one classroom that brings together learners from different racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds to mixed ages and neurodiverse learners. Rather than categorizing students based on need, ability, or some other factor, we meet holistically with compassion and respect. We guide - and expect - our students to work together and embrace differences rather than avoid them or shun them. In doing so, all of our students’ experiences are enhanced in every aspect of the classroom. My learners and their families tell me often that this experience is ideal for them.

What is one favorite aspect of your work that would have been especially difficult to deliver in traditional school settings?

At Vandalia, we focus on a cosmic curriculum that shows how all “subjects” are interconnected. It allows students to approach learning various skills from an angle most interesting or meaningful for them. For example, a particular student may not be much interested in a music class, but that same student might find it enjoyable to learn about the mathematical patterns or historical significance of various kinds of music. This also allows skills to be applied in various ways to promote mastery learning - a cornerstone of our educational philosophy.

Please share a story about what success looks like in your microschool.

Most people will, at some point in life, toss out some variation of the phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” What they may never tell you is that success and beauty have this in common. We have had many successes this year, from having students who have rekindled their love or learning to letting them use the skills they learned to explore and create wonderful presentations.

That said, I firmly believe that no real learning can take place until the student feels safe and at peace. More than one of our students came from situations where they faced bullying; in some cases, it was extreme. 

One story I would like to tell is about a student who shared some of their past school experiences with me. They moved to the area when COVID-19 precautions were still in place. They had been bullied in previous schools and struggled academically due to unmet social and learning needs. Starting a new school didn’t make it any better.

The experience at their new school here in West Virginia was much the same as it had been previously. They said that they felt lonely, sad, and too stupid to keep up in class. This was made even worse by virtual school.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not against virtual education in its entirety. It can be a powerful tool when leveraged correctly, and we do leverage it at Vandalia. Sadly, within the context of this situation, it was a major detriment. Not only did it amplify the student’s social struggles, it also meant that their instructional needs were not met. For privacy reasons, I won’t go into the specific needs of this student, but suffice it to say that these needs could not be met in a typical virtual classroom. It was the fault of nobody in particular and couldn’t be helped, but the situation failed this student.

Fast forward one year. Vandalia Community School opens and this student joins our community in the first year. Within the first week they said that they “liked it here.” By the middle of the school year, they were happy and excited to have friends and be learning without feeling behind. At the end of the school year, I was checking in with parents to see who would be returning next year. This family answer made my day. They said that not only were they very happy with the progress at the school, but that their child was thriving at home and happier than they had been in years. They also said (somewhat jokingly) that it wouldn’t have mattered if they did want to find another school because the student had made it clear that they would refuse to go to any other school! That single statement, said in good humor and good spirits, was an enormous win!

What is one piece of advice you give new microschool founders?

When you finish reading this article, stay right where you are. Go to your state’s Secretary of State website and register your school under whatever business model suits it best. If you aren’t comfortable doing that yourself, then email a CPA, your Secretary of State’s office, your state’s Small Business Association, the National Microschooling Center, or any other resource that you are comfortable using. Just do it as soon as you finish reading this article (or even come back to the article later).

Your status as a dreamer dreaming of opening a microschool dies the moment you submit these forms. It is replaced by a profound realization - you are a microschool founder. Regardless of where you are in the process or even how long you decide to wait before opening your doors, this is the moment in which your microschool becomes reality.

Admittedly, I have a general tendency to give more advice than requested and see no reason to break that trend now. In addition to the one piece of advice above, I’m also leaving you with a piece of unsolicited advice. Now you can jump into putting the pieces together to make your microschool great. I’m serious; get started right now. You have a lot to do.

Please describe one facet of your microschool’s experience that you’d like people to think of when your microschool comes up in conversation.

I want people to think of a peaceful, kind community where learners come to experience more than academics. It’s a place where they learn to live their lives as individuals and within their communities in a way that is kind to both.