Wonderschool, pioneering developer of software used by in-home childcare providers nationwide, announced the rollout of a platform that will enable parent-educators and K-12 teachers to create learning pods so that students can remain enrolled in their existing school, while creating safe and secure learning environments at home.
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“This isn’t a new challenge for the thousands of in-home childcare providers around the country. We’re using that experience to help parents-turned-educators to create and manage pods of learners to create a safe environment — while maintaining a strong connection to their existing school community,” said Chris Bennett, Founder and CEO of Wonderschool. “This is about trying to restore school-life balance, during a period of incredible stress and uncertainty. But it’s also designed to address the risk of rising inequality, as schools go remote in the fall.”
Popular among in-home child care providers around the country, the Wonderschool interface allows parents or educators to create and manage a micro school (or “learning pod”) by recruiting new families with a website on Wonderschool, conducting Zoom and in-person tours, hosting open houses, manage payments from parents, understand and find liability insurance, join a micro-school leader chat community, and get access to shared services such a micro-school mentors, curriculum consultants, and more. Designed to foster a more inclusive, equitable approach to microschooling, Wonderschool allows “pod” creators to promote their program to other parents, and join a growing community of parent-educators to share resources, tips, and advice.
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Wonderschool’s growing network of parents and educators come from a wide range of backgrounds.
- Tracey McEntyre, a retired early childhood educator now runs a microschool for kids in her neighborhood. McEntyre, whose son is living with Autism, created the Little Elm STE(A)M Academy to serve students aged 3-11 with a wide range of learning differences.
- Rachel Weiss, who most recently taught in a preschool, started a microschool that is a forest, outdoor school to serve children grades Pre-K to 1st grade.
- Jeremiah Cota, a tribal member on the San Carlos reservation in Arizona launched his microschool using borrowed church space. More than 20 students now attend the school, which utilizes just two classrooms, and receive funding through the Arizona Department of Education.
“It’s not sustainable to expect parents to balance work, childcare, and managing their children’s education everyday. It’s not easy to identify and connect with other parents grappling with similar challenges,” says [parent customer.] “We need relief, and Wonderschool removes much of the logistical challenge, and burden of building a microschool from the ground up.”
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