JEM Learning is a new microschool community that provides families with a child-centered alternative to both traditional public and private schools. Microschools like JEM Learning are small, multi-age learning communities with paid educators that are reminiscent of the one-room schoolhouse model. They were gaining traction prior to 2020, but their…

Black Mothers Forum (BMF) was founded in 2016 to combat institutional racism, including disproportionate discipline, unrepresentative curricula, and racial bullying in Phoenix-area schools. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted public education, the organization launched a network of microschools as outposts of this mission. These microschools were…

Every child deserves the right to attend a school that can best meet his or her individual learning needs. Where the child lives should not be a limiting factor, and no one school is the best fit for every child who just happens to live nearby. Education-choice policies have the potential to expand education options for students in rural areas.…

As arguments for the liberalization of education grow more heated, how are we to approach Japanese schools as a community? This paper clarifies the basic concept of the "small schools" theory typified by the METI "Future Classrooms" (functionalist and individualist reorganizations), and organizes the relevant points of debate.…

After a turbulent spring of COVID induced virtual learning, some traditional public schools in the U.S. are hesitant to reopen with face-to-face instruction in fall 2020. In response to this uncertainty, many parents are taking their childrens' education into their own hands. Some are banding together to create their own kind of school, with small…

Founded by mothers long concerned about the safety and welfare of their Black children, Black Mothers Forum (BMF) is an Arizona-based education advocacy group that responded to the COVID-19 crisis by launching two microschools for Black families in Phoenix, Arizona, in January 2021. BMF partnered with Prenda, a well-known microschool provider, but…

This document is designed to provide State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) with essential information about the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP). This informational document will supersede non-regulatory guidance on REAP published in 2003, providing information consistent with changes to the program…

Many school districts struggle to retain early career teachers, but the challenge is particularly pronounced in small and rural districts (Frahm & Cianca, 2021). The School-University Resource Network, a university center at William & Mary School of Education in Virginia, discovered this firsthand through a community of practice they…

Mountain, insular and internal areas represent 70 percent of the Italian land with a population that experiences many difficulties in daily living due to territorial constraints. Nevertheless, it is extremely important to guarantee equal opportunities and services to those who live on the mountains and small islands of the country. Distance…

This case presents how the leadership team and faculty of a small, independent school used design thinking to respond to a competitive marketplace and desire for enrollment growth in the middle grades. The new middle school head came in with a mandate for substantial change and sought to engage all stakeholders in a process of redesign and program…

This work presents 'Dove sta di casa la scuola', an online course for teachers promoted by the Small School Movement during the COVID-19 emergency. The course aimed to provide alternatives to lecture-based distance learning using the domestic environment as a context for 'low-intensity' digital learning. Such an experience, involving 7000 Italian…

Since data collection technologies has become a part of daily life, measurement and data requirements now permeate many state mathematics standards, beginning as early as kindergarten and extending through high school. For example, the Standards for Mathematical Content, recommend that kindergarteners "describe and compare measurable…

America has a long history of small-school environments, such as one-room schoolhouses and homeschools. But in recent years, other models have developed, giving students more intimate settings for learning and enabling their families to play a larger role in their schooling. Microschools are a leading example of this growing sector that also…

At a time when the United States Department of Education openly advocates for neoliberal, free market policies, exploration of these efforts is needed. Investigation into one such effort, charter schools, can help provide insight into complicated questions surrounding the value and impact of these schools, especially on the marginalized…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Florida Urban League (CFUL), which focuses on combating the social, racial, and economic challenges that African American communities face, believed remote learning would exacerbate educational and economic gaps. Recognizing both the need to stave off academic losses and the opportunity to implement a…