As private microschools gain momentum and pull families away from traditional public schools, districts are exploring how public microschools can deliver a personalized, student-centered experience that is financially sustainable.
This report synthesizes the latest research and expert guidance, including:
- A clear explanation of private and public microschool models
- Why families are choosing microschools—and what they value most
- Essential design principles for high-quality public microschools
- How Certified Microschools for Deeper Learning can strengthen quality and credibility
If your district is considering expanding choice options, download this report to assess whether public microschools align with your community’s needs and your long-term strategy.
Preview the Microschools Report
Introduction
Private microschools are relative newcomers to the education choice marketplace but are exploding in popularity, growing in several short years to 95,000 locations with no signs of slowing down (O’Connell-Domenech, 2024). For traditional public school systems, this is both a threat and an opportunity.
The threat is that private microschools are siphoning off student enrollments from the traditional public education system. Because microschools are relatively easy to set up without the costs or regulations of traditional schools, they can appear rapidly in a school district’s service area.
The opportunity is that microschools don’t have to live outside the public system—districts can create public microschool models that deliver what parents* want while remaining accountable, scalable, and fiscally viable. Doing this correctly is a cost-effective way to:
- Win back families that no longer desire the traditional public school experience
- Retain parents that may be exploring other choice options
- Establish a scalable reform model to increase the innovation and appeal of the traditional public school system
This article will unpack the microschool movement, why it is appealing to families, and how public schools can join this movement. A public microschool model can offer what parents are seeking that is different from traditional schooling while also fitting into the structure of public schools with a scalable solution and a viable, attractive economic model.
* For the purposes of this report, “parents” includes both parents and legal guardians.
What Is a Private Microschool?
Private microschools are funded by tuition and may take advantage of vouchers in states offering families that option. They are characterized by offering small teacher-to-student ratios with highly personalized learning where teachers act more like guides and can provide high levels of individualized attention to students. They range from centers serving homeschooling students to small private schools.
Due to the small size of these schools, students are in mixed-age group classes using self-directed, computer-based learning for the academics mixed with group activities guided by the teacher with the goal of enriched experiences and students forming a community (Indiana Microschool Collaborative, 2025; Ohls et al., 2025; Soifer & Soifer, 2025). There is often an emphasis on digital and project-based learning. Students usually do not switch classes. One teacher stays with a multi-age class for all subjects. This is made possible by a reliance on self-directed, computer-based learning, providing the core academics with students setting personal learning goals for themselves. Some refer to microschools as a remake of the one-room schoolhouse.
The hallmark of microschools is their small size and intense focus on personalized goals and attention for students and aversion to excessive testing. They often offer self-paced curriculums, different focus areas including site-based learning, and flexible schedules. The combination of small size, highly individualized attention, flexible learning models, and flexible schedules makes microschools very accommodating to family needs. Microschools are the essence of a “boutique school” offering flexibility and a highly personalized experience to both students and their parents.
What is a Public Microschool?
A public microschool is when a traditional public school system or charter school opens and operates a microschool within its system (Getting Smart Collective et al., 2025). For purposes of this article, we are focusing on traditional public school systems (school districts) considering opening one or more public microschools. For district-run public microschools there is no tuition charged. Students are enrolled as public school students, and the district receives the full-time equivalent (FTE) funding for each pupil. The fiscal alignment makes the model legally straightforward and financially compatible with standard district budgeting. Public microschools therefore offer a way to deliver boutique, personalized learning while preserving access, oversight, and public accountability.
Why Would a School District Choose to Open Public Microschools?
Microschools can provide a very attractive option for families within the school district’s choice offerings and is a powerful recruitment offering for families that have left traditional public schooling for homeschooling, charter schools, private schools, or other microschools and an effective retention strategy for those open to exploring an alternative to traditional schooling.
Microschools are different than small traditional public schools or magnet programs and appeal to families precisely because they are different from what is perceived as “institutional schools.” We will unpack the research on what these parents are seeking in the full report.
Read the Full Microschools Report
Expert guidance on how districts can launch high-quality, credible public microschools that meet families’ needs.
