Brilliant Microschools

A fun fact from my research before our latest podcast with Surf Skate Science. - 1999: Tony Hawk lands first 900° on the 11th try. - 2020: 12-year-old Gui Khury nails 1080° on a homemade ramp 21 years later. 180° more rotation. A generation pushing limits. Meanwhile, SAT math questions unchanged since 1984. Why? Skate parks as accidental classrooms: - Immediate feedback on every attempt - Progress visible to all, motivating peers - "What if?" mindset encourages innovation - Physics, engineering, and lots more learning in every trick Traditional schools often stuck in the memorize-test-forget cycle. Imagine if classrooms adopted skate park principles: Fast failure, faster learning Visible progress driving peer motivation Real-world challenges over textbook problems Mastery as social currency Some educators are experimenting with this. Results are promising. Skaters have stumbled onto something powerful: learning that's engaging, rapid, and self-motivated. Listen here for our chat with Uli and Toni: https://lnkd.in/daRSE2p4 And read some extra thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/dbnbtT9a

Andreas Marinopoulos covers innovation education trends smartly on his podcast, and I enjoyed our in-depth conversation about what to expect from the trajectories of today's American microschooling movement. Some of what we cover in this 45 minute interview: - Microschooling represents a more responsive and dynamic system for meeting learners' evolving needs, a more apt response to the demands of the 21st economy. - At present growth rates, a 10% market share in the relatively near term seems possible as growing awareness of microschooling's possibilities fuels demand. - It will be increasingly essential to modernize the regulatory frameworks in which these learning environments operate, so as not to risk stifling innovation. https://lnkd.in/gwe-t4WC

We recently caught up with with Don Soifer from the National Microschooling Center on our podcast. Here are the key takeaways that struck me: - Microschooling is growing rapidly, from ~2% market share to potentially 10% in the near future. It's not just a pandemic trend - it's meeting a real need for personalized, flexible education. - The future of education might look more like the gig economy - fluid, dynamic, and responsive to individual needs and market demands. - The diversity in microschool models is striking. From tech-heavy to tech-free, full-time to part-time, home-based to employer-partnered. This variety is the sector's strength. - Microschools are attracting educators frustrated with traditional systems. At last, they can find freedom to innovate and truly personalize learning. - We all know that zoning, permitting, and outdated education laws are hurdles. But there's increasing momentum to modernize these laws. - There's a shift towards seeing education spaces as part of community development. Imagine apartment complexes or workplaces with built-in microschools. - Microschools are fostering collaboration over competition. There's a strong sense of community among founders, sharing ideas and best practices. - Measurement and accountability are evolving. Instead of standardized tests, microschools are finding innovative ways to demonstrate student growth and success. - The sector is attracting diverse leaders, often from communities historically underserved by traditional education. This is driving innovation from the ground up. The key challenge: balancing innovation with quality control as the sector grows. How do we maintain the essence of microschooling at scale?

How exciting! Today is our first day of school, and what a journey it has been leading up to this moment! Don’t worry, we offer year-round flexible enrollment, so we still have many families looking to join. We expect a busy season all the way through the end of September. We wish our amazing learners & teachers the best school year ever! Happy first day of school! ?? ?? Patrick Tsakalakos, Brilliant Microschools - Head of Admissions #studentsuccess #edtech #futureofedcuation #remotelearning #educationtechnology #homeschooling

The Brilliant Microschool Curriculum Philosophy - The 3 Es: Engage, Explore, Elaborate - Eduprotocols and Explore Boards - Mastery Based Progression - Grade Bands - Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - Interdisciplinary Units - Adaptive Learning Software - Just-In-Time Learning Using AI Learn more here ?? https://lnkd.in/dnE-VkxP

With more than 40% of students now eligible for private school choice programs nationwide, I'm happy and proud to announce that we are now an approved Arizona ESA Vendor. We are excited for students in Arizona to have the opportunity to thrive in our network of online microschools. Be on the lookout for more states coming soon! ?? #edchoice #schoolchoice Alexis M. Andreas MarinopoulosJohn Kountouris Patrick Tsakalakos

Thank you Kerry McDonald for joining Andreas Marinopoulos on our Brilliant Microschools podcast last week! Kerry’s tenacity is truly inspiring and is materially advancing the school choice movement... Here are three interesting insights from listening to the conversation: 1. Starting from Scratch: Kerry talked about the importance of creating schools from a “tabula rasa” perspective. By starting new schools from scratch, we can move from just iterative improvements (established schools often struggle with too many stakeholders to satisfy) to more substantive innovation. Kerry pointed out that having a healthy market where parents can vote with their feet, just like in everything else in a free society, is crucial. While public school closures often make the news, microschools and private schools also face closures, showing a dynamic landscape that ultimately gives students more educational options. 2. Joyful Education: One of the most surprising yet important points Kerry made is how much joy school founders experience every day. Despite their different backgrounds, a common pattern she noticed is the immense joy these founders feel. Kerry highlighted that education should be more than just about teaching and learning; it should be about fostering joy. This joy spreads from founders to parents and students, creating a positive and vibrant school culture. Let’s just think how much of a priority it should be for students to experience joy over their 12-year education journey. 3. Evolution of Schooling Options: Kerry connected microschooling to the broader homeschooling trend that’s been growing for years. The pandemic sped this up by exposing the quality of education and pushing parents to look for alternatives. Kerry explained that microschooling is one of many offshoots of homeschooling, reflecting a broader trend toward more choices and independence in education. Just like we now have more options in everything from streaming services to vacation plans, educational choices are expanding too, offering more personalized and flexible learning experiences for students. Check out the full podcast here: https://lnkd.in/dMRyVM8i

I’ve been in a heated discussion about our curriculum improvements. I agree that decisions should be evidence-based, but I also think perfect is the enemy of good. Deciding on our power standards, protocols and routines is never going to be easy. Deciding on scaffolds, highways & off-ramps, UDL accommodations and explore boards requires a holistic curriculum strategy. Deciding between performance tasks versus summative assessments needs thoughtful debate. BUT there are so many common-sense, easy wins we can implement without needing endless debate or experts to sign off. For math and science, we’ve already moved away from practice sets and are focused on real-life problems. We don’t need studies to tell us that starting with concrete examples before diving into abstract ideas makes learning easier. We don’t need peer-reviewed journals to tell us that adapting to students’ backgrounds and interests is key. Talking about NBA ratios is better than a worksheet. Amazon discount shopping is better than a lecture on percentages. Cooking recipes are better than a video on fractions. Just like everything else, continuous incremental improvements are often more powerful than an end-to-end redesign. Let’s not wait for perfect. Start accumulating wins in your curriculum every single day.

The future job market is definitely a bit scary to think about, especially as a parent. When we were kids, many of today's jobs didn't even exist. Preparing our kids for such an unpredictable future means focusing on skills that are likely to be useful no matter what, like critical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to learn new things quickly. It's also important to help our students get comfortable with uncertainty and to encourage them to try new things and learn from their experiences. This aligns with the idea that education should be about more than just memorizing facts; it should help kids become adaptable and confident in their ability to handle whatever comes their way. In short, while we can't predict the future, we can prepare our kids by giving them the tools they need to navigate an ever-changing world and by supporting their personal growth and exploration.

Like Our Stomachs, Our Minds Are Hurt More Often By Overeating Than By Hunger. — Petrarch In a world teeming with information, our children's minds face the constant threat of 'overeating.' This is especially true for children with learning differences. In the push towards standardization, education sometimes forgets this. We flood children with facts, figures, and constant stimulation, expecting them to digest it all. But for many, this is overeating. It's not nourishment; it's overload. Their minds, unique and intricate, need a different approach. They require less, not more. Children with learning differences experience the world differently. They see the world through a different lens. Their minds do not feast on information. They savor it, bit by bit. Rushing them is like forcing a meal down their throat. It does not work. They need space. Time. Patience. They need to chew on concepts, digest ideas at their own pace. This is how they learn best. For these children, the classroom can feel like a banquet laid out for others. They sit at the table but cannot reach the dishes. The feast is not meant for them. It is too fast, too rich, and too overwhelming. They need a different menu. A menu crafted for their needs, their pace, and their tastes. The role of educators and parents is not to force-feed but to cultivate an appetite for balanced learning. This means understanding each child's dietary needs. Some need their information sliced thin, and others seasoned differently. Some require small, frequent meals rather than a large feast. For them, engagement comes through clarity. It comes when we reduce the noise and to strip away the excess. Make every word, every lesson, count. This doesn't mean watering down. It means paring back to what's essential. So, we facilitate discovery not through the quantity of information but through its quality. Discovery emerges in the moments of connection between a concept and the child's world. When we align educational content with these interests, we unlock doors. We make learning relevant and digestible. But this approach requires patience. It demands that we, as educators & parents, tune in to each child's rhythm. We must observe, listen, and adapt. It's a dance, not a race. Petrarch's words remind us that less is often more. In an age where information is endless, we must learn to filter, to select, to moderate. For children with learning differences, this moderation is not a luxury; it is a necessity. It is the difference between thriving and floundering. This does not happen overnight. It happens in small moments, in daily victories, in the gentle push to try just a bit more today than yesterday. It happens in recognizing when to step back, when to allow the mind to rest, to hunger a little, so that the next meal can be approached with a renewed appetite. In moderation, in balance, in understanding the unique needs of each mind, we find the path to true nourishment, to knowledge, and to wisdom.