海角大神

Episode transcript

Jackie Valley: 鈥淸W]e chose 鈥榯ransformation鈥� as our value tag for this story because it has a potential to do just that in the education realm, but I think there are several other values at play here, too.... Obviously, these microschool leaders have a responsibility to educate the children who are coming to their school. Another one is innovation... [T]hey鈥檙e little testing grounds for a new way to teach kids....鈥�

Clay Collins: That was Jackie Valley, an education writer at the Monitor. 

Education reform can sound 鈥� governmental. But the fact is, some of the most interesting experiments in ed reform are bottom-up and organic, the work of frontline educators with adaptive attitudes and a genuine desire to make the learning experience better.

Whether those can cross into the realm of public policy is a question that鈥檚 bound up in issues like regulation and funding. Still, the spirit of innovation rises. 

This is 鈥淲hy We Wrote This.鈥� I鈥檓 Clay Collins. Jackie was last on this show back in February talking about issues of fairness around teacher pay. She joins me today to talk about her recent story on 鈥渕icroschools,鈥� some of which began as pandemic 鈥減od鈥� learning groups, and all of which are small 鈥� typically, they have fewer than 30 students 鈥� and all of which are modern-day one room schoolhouses, basically, that run on various sets of principles and with few formal guardrails.

Good to have you back, Jackie.

Jackie Valley: Yeah! It鈥檚 good to be here.

Collins: So first off, how did you learn about these schools?

Valley: So, it actually goes back a few years to when I was doing local reporting at my prior job in Las Vegas. It was during the pandemic, and the city of North Las Vegas actually started its own microschool in rec centers, during that period when schools were on remote learning.

So I thought it was interesting back then, but at that point I thought, 鈥淥h, this is just a temporary solution.鈥� And in fact, in North Las Vegas, that鈥檚 exactly what it was 鈥� they鈥檙e not doing their microschool anymore. But, what we saw happen was that other microschools that started, or these 鈥渓earning pods鈥� actually persisted, and there鈥檚 been a lot of growth since then.

And so, a report about it came out in the spring and I thought, 鈥淥K, I鈥檒l do a short update story.鈥� But the more I started reporting, the more interesting it kept getting. And so we wound up with a much longer story that I think is a fascinating look at this relatively new trend.

Collins: And ... you visited some of these schools, or, a couple. Can you describe what they鈥檙e like?

Valley: Yeah, so they really run the gamut. We visited two in Las Vegas, and then one in Denver. So one of the ones in Las Vegas is running out of a Jewish temple. They鈥檙e not affiliated with the temple, they鈥檙e just renting space. So it鈥檚 just a large room, and there鈥檚 posters with child-written rules because the kids make the rules in that school. It鈥檚 a very simple setup. 

Across town, there鈥檚 another one that is also renting space from a church, and that one looks a little bit more like a traditional school. There鈥檚 a front entrance area, common room, and then some individual classrooms. And then the third, in Denver, is a home. So it鈥檚 on a residential leafy street. It鈥檚 a yellow house with a front porch and a little bell. And in the backyard there鈥檚 a giant play structure, and they鈥檝e converted the garage into an art studio. 

Collins: You mentioned kids having agency and [the ability to participate in] some decisionmaking, which is something that we鈥檝e seen elsewhere. You know, I think you talked a little about multi-generational classrooms and nature-based learning, and these all sound like pieces of past bottom-up ed-reform movements. I wonder, as a long time education writer, how do you size up a new trend like that in terms of its significance? I mean, is this one potentially transformational?

Valley: Well, we chose 鈥渢ransformation鈥� as our value tag for this story because it has a potential to do just that in the education realm, but I think there are several other values at play here, too. One that comes to mind is responsibility. Obviously, these microschool leaders have a responsibility to educate the children who are coming to their school. Another one is innovation. I mean, they鈥檙e little testing grounds for a new way to teach kids and perform school operations.

The reason I wanted to write the story is because it has persisted beyond the pandemic. People thought these might just go away when schools resumed operating as normal again, and they didn鈥檛. And I think that says something about the education landscape right now.

There鈥檚 a desire for innovation, and change, and perhaps smaller class sizes, and more personal learning. So, it鈥檚 something that should be watched closely, I think, because what sometimes happens is the public schools or larger school systems may pluck ideas from these labs, so to speak, where they鈥檙e experimenting with different formats.

Collins: Hm. Reforms, you know, often target specific problems. And you mentioned classroom size, that鈥檚 one. And then you think of ideas like, the 鈥渇lipped classroom鈥� came along and that was targeting better engagement and a smarter use of learning time. Besides overcrowding, what are some of the education system problems that microschools are positioned to help solve?

Valley: Sometimes, it鈥檚 just parents looking for a different fit for their child. Maybe their child has struggled making friends, and they feel that a smaller environment would suit them better, or they think there鈥檚 too much standardized testing 鈥� that鈥檚 one common complaint. Or they want their kids to be on a learner-directed path rather than just a one-size-fits-all education that you might get elsewhere. And so, there鈥檚 a lot of different reasons I think people are gravitating to microschools, and each microschool itself is different.

So one family might choose a nature-based one 鈥榗ause they鈥檙e really big on outdoor play and learning, whereas another one might choose a STEM-based type of school. Yeah, so right now, we鈥檙e seeing so much conversation about school choice, and I think microschools fit into that narrative because parents are choosing these different types of setting for their children.

Collins: I mean, parents really do have a role, and the more engaged they are, obviously, the better, usually. When you first hear the term microschools, it kind of has an air of exclusivity, especially when you hear that it鈥檚 a high ratio of educators to learners. And you call the schools 鈥淢ontessori-inspired鈥� in your piece. Is that perception of exclusivity in any way a barrier to the growth of microschools?

Valley: I think it could be. Microschool leaders acknowledge that it鈥檚 not accessible for everyone right now. They鈥檙e tuition-based, largely, and so it鈥檚 up to the families whether they can afford to send their children to these microschools. Now, some microschool leaders are intentionally setting their tuition at a rate that鈥檚 a notch lower than other traditional private schools in a bid to help out in that aspect.

It鈥檚 difficult to get an accurate figure for the exact number of microschool students because the laws vary by state, and so the way that these children are designated differs from place to place. But right now, the best guess is that it鈥檚 standing about 2%. And so one microschool leader expects that we could see the movement capturing up to about 10% of the school age population, but I think we鈥檙e years away from that at this point.

That鈥檚 one of the questions about this is like, if this keeps moving and expanding, will it be a setting where there鈥檚 a diverse group of students, both socioeconomically, racially, et cetera? Or, will it be, like you said, a little bit more exclusive for those who can pay for it? 

Now, there is the question of public funding. West Virginia, for instance, is allowing voucher money to go toward microschools. And so then that raises the other issue of will we see more regulation? Because right now there [are] not a lot of guardrails on microschools. They are essentially operating as mini businesses.

Collins: Right. A source in your story says that this kind of project-based learning is about, quote, 鈥渂uilding a civil society from scratch.鈥� Now that struck me as a really big aim. Um, and as you say that, in order for this to really shape 鈥� reshape 鈥� the education system, it鈥檚 gotta get through this labyrinth that you described to get to maybe where it鈥檚 publicly funded.  

Whatever its effect, ultimately, it seems like this shakes out as a really interesting testing ground for something new.

Valley: It is, I think, and the one that you鈥檙e referring to the director who said he was trying to 鈥渂uild a civil society from scratch鈥� 鈥� that was Life Skills Academy in Henderson. And the reason he started it, he鈥檚 a parent himself, uh, doesn鈥檛 have an education background. He has more of a military background actually, and an engineer. And his reasoning was that when he was hiring people, fresh grads out of college from even some really good, well-known universities, he thought they lacked some basic life skills, and lacked some common sense or interpersonal relationship, those type of soft skills.

And so that was one of his reasons for starting this, was he wanted a school that focused on all of those skills and not just academics. And so in that particular setting, the kids are the ones who make the rules. They work together to define how the classroom should be run. You鈥檒l even notice that when it鈥檚 time for a break, it鈥檚 a student signaling that it鈥檚 a 10-minute break.

It鈥檚 a looser atmosphere in some ways. I mean, the kids are not necessarily sitting at desks all day. They鈥檙e kind of back and forth. They can get snacks. Uh, one little girl was really cute, 鈥檆ause she said she loves it because she can take her shoes off. And so it鈥檚 just a different type of education atmosphere that he鈥檚 hoping will result in perhaps more well-rounded citizens one day.

Collins: And kid-approved, and they鈥檙e obviously the most important constituency in all of this.

Valley: [Laughs.] Yes.

Collins: Well, thanks so much, Jackie, for joining us to talk about your cover story in the Monitor Weekly, and for all the work you do for us.

Valley: Thank you. I enjoyed talking about it.

Collins: To our listeners, thanks for being here. You can find our show notes with links to the story discussed and to all of Jackie鈥檚 work at CSMonitor.com/WhyWeWroteThis. This episode was hosted by me, Clay Collins, and produced by Mackenzie Farkus and Jingnan Peng. Our sound engineers were Tim Malone and Alyssa Britton. Original music is by Noel Flatt. Produced by 海角大神, copyright 2023.