Four of my former Harvard master’s degree students—Ruben Villarreal-Halprin, Matthew Millikin, Jaysan Shah, and William Wiltshire—joined me to discuss their independent study project exploring seven diverse microschools across the United States: the Village School, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools microschool, NuVu, the Levitt Lab, Khan Lab School, Red Bridge, and Alpha School.
Along with the diversity of these approaches, what strikes me is what they share: someone asked the prior question. Before curriculum, before technology, before enrollment, someone asked what learning is actually for.
I come to this conversation from a different angle — thinking about education at the family and home level, before any institutional model is chosen. But what I'm finding is that the distinction between "alternative" and "conventional" is dissolving. Microschools, AI-assisted learning, and family-led education are all pressing on the same question from different directions.
The landscape is changing fast enough that the real skill may not be choosing the right model. It may be developing the discernment to evaluate any model — including the ones that didn't exist five years ago — against what you actually believe a child needs.
That's the question I'm sitting with. These seven schools make it feel more urgent, and more possible.
Along with the diversity of these approaches, what strikes me is what they share: someone asked the prior question. Before curriculum, before technology, before enrollment, someone asked what learning is actually for.
I come to this conversation from a different angle — thinking about education at the family and home level, before any institutional model is chosen. But what I'm finding is that the distinction between "alternative" and "conventional" is dissolving. Microschools, AI-assisted learning, and family-led education are all pressing on the same question from different directions.
The landscape is changing fast enough that the real skill may not be choosing the right model. It may be developing the discernment to evaluate any model — including the ones that didn't exist five years ago — against what you actually believe a child needs.
That's the question I'm sitting with. These seven schools make it feel more urgent, and more possible.
That's a really neat set of insights. I think you're right.