Microschools in Arizona take their lessons outside, where students and their Guide sit on the grass to learn.

How it works...

Guiding a microschool is a joyful way to give  back to your community while you earn an income!

Become a Prenda guide

When you partner with Prenda, we’ll help you start your own microschool, powered by Prenda’s learning approach and microschool management system. You’ll find a location and spread the word about your unique microschool, and we’ll provide the training, support, and curriculum you’ll need to make sure your students have fun, love learning, and grow academically.

As a guide, there are no upfront costs to using Prenda

Families pay to attend your microschool and a portion of those funds go to Prenda.

Start My Microschool
Microschool students explore outside
Through state scholarship programs many families pay nothing out of pocket.

Microschool funding in your state

Click on your state below to see funding options
available for families near you!

In some states, public funding is available to your students. In other states, parents pay you directly.

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Funding Options Definitions

Direct Payment

Parent pays out of pocket

State Scholarship

Parent pays with public funds

FAQs

How much does Prenda cost and how am I paid as a guide?

Families pay a flat rate per student, per year. This rate is comprised of two parts.

  1. The Prenda Fee
  2. The Guide Fee

The Prenda fee is $2,199.

The guide fee is set by you as the guide and will vary from microschool to microschool.

Parents can pay out of pocket (direct pay) or through state scholarship programs (ESA) that make education funds directly available to families.

Example scenario: You decide to set your guide fee at $3,500 per student and you have 10 students. Families would be charged a total of $5,699 ($2,199 + $3,500) per student per year and you would earn $35,000 for running your microschool approximately 20 hours per week.

In some cases, Prenda will handle all invoicing for you while in other situations Prenda will invoice families for the Prenda fee only and you will need to collect payment for your guide fee independently.

What does Direct Pay mean?

Direct Pay means that parents pay for their child to utilize Prenda's learning model and attend your microschool out of pocket. Prenda will invoice parents for the $2,199 Prenda fee plus whatever you decide to charge. You'll set your guide fee as you set up your microschool profile. Click Start My Microschool to create your account and get started! 

What is a State Scholarship?

A state scholarship is a new kind of public funding for education that allows families to access a portion of the state funds that would have otherwise been spent on their child if they were enrolled in the public school system. Each state has a unique name for this process but the most common term is an "Empowerment Scholarship Account" or "ESA." Availability and details of these programs vary by state. If available in your state, this funding is typically enough to allow families to participate in a Prenda microschool without any out-of-pocket payment.

What kind of a time commitment is guiding a microschool?

The Prenda learning experience was designed around a 16-hour week for K-2nd grade students (4, 4-hour days) and a 20-hour week for 3-8th grade students (4, 5-hour days). However, you can choose to adjust this schedule to meet the needs of your community. You may also choose to guide more than one microschool. You'll set your calendar for the year as you set up your microschool. Click Start My Microschol to create an account and get started.

What are the requirements to open a microschool?

In order to launch your microschool, you’ll need

  1. a comfortable, safe learning space for students with access to the internet. 
  2. a minimum of two students, one of which is "non-custodial" (meaning that you are not their legal guardian)
  3. background checks for yourself and for any other adult that will be at your location. 

After you click Start My Microschool, you'll be able to initiate your background check (Prenda facilitates and pays for this) and access branded marketing tools that can help you spread the word about your microschool and invite students to enroll with you.

Do I need to be a certified teacher to guide a microschool?

No. There is no educational requirement to guide a microschool. Interestingly, about half of all guides are certified teachers and the other half are passionate parents or community members that want to make a difference for the students in their lives. We’ve seen successful microschools run by homeschool parents, business leaders, soccer coaches, grandparents, and church leaders. “Guiding” is different than “teaching.” Our learning experience does not depend on the guide to provide instruction as a teacher would in a classroom setting. Instead, your job is to help students set goals, monitor their progress, and support them as they learn how to learn. Academic coaching and math tutoring are available to provide expert support to students when needed.

Can I guide only my own children?

Yes! We call this a "Single-Family Microschool" but we consider you just as much a guide as if you were guiding a Multi-Family Microschool. You still have access to all the tools and support a Multi-Family Microschool gets but you aren’t paid for educating your own children.

How many students are in a microschool?

In our experience, 5-10 learners in a microschool is ideal, however, we only require that you have 2 students (at least one of which is "non-custodial" meaning that you are not their parent or legal guardian) to get started. You may choose to exceed 10 students but we have found that when groups get too big the magic of the small group is lost and guiding becomes stressful. Most parents are looking for a small-group experience so if you accept more students, your microschool may become less attractive.

Does Prenda enroll students in my microschool?

Prenda does not assign students to microschools. It is up to you as the guide to recruit students and families for your microschool. We provide helpful resources like Facebook pages where guides and families can connect, the microschool map, and the facilitation of your microschool profile page to help you spread the word about your school. We also provide sharable resources that you can use to help your community understand what a microschool is and why they might be interested in attending with you.

Are locations provided for microschools?

Prenda does not provide locations for microschools. It is up to you as the guide to find and secure a suitable location for your microschool. Most guides operate out of their home but many use more formal locations like churches, commercial spaces, or community centers. Some guides share a larger location and host several microschools together. If finding a location sounds hard, reach out to us and we can help you think through your options and connect you with a guide coach that can support you.

How does Prenda ensure the security and safety of students in my microschool?

The ultimate responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of students rests with the guide and the families who choose to enroll in the microschool. Prenda does not guarantee the safety and security of students in the microschool, and it is important for parents to conduct due diligence and make sure the guide and microschool environment is a good fit for their child.

Prenda requires a background check for every guide and adult that will be at the location during school hours. Guides should ensure that students are always safe while at their microschool. This includes controlling access to things like drugs, medicine, chemicals, alcohol, or weapons, and any bodies of water as well as ensuring that your students are safe on the internet.

What academic outcomes are expected from the students in my microschool?

Prenda provides a structured K-8 core curriculum for math, reading, language, writing, science, and social studies, our learning model is student-led and focused on fostering growth and development, both academically and socially. While we hope all of our students will strive for academic excellence, what excellence looks like for each student should be defined by the parent. We do not guarantee specific academic outcomes for students in a microschool. Every learner will set their own goals and progress along the path that they pursue, supported by their guide and their family. If a student is using funding from a state scholarship program, there may be certain requirements that come with that funding. Prenda will occasionally publish academic growth trends in aggregate but does not make academic demands of your microschool.

As a guide, what is my relationship with Prenda?

As a guide, you run your microschool as an independent business that you are responsible for and operate. You are not a Prenda employee, independent contractor, agent, or partner. Prenda is a service provider to you to help support and provide you with the helpful resources you need to run a successful miroschool. Click Start My Microschool to create your account and get started!

Where do most microschools meet?

Prenda microschools are run out of a variety of locations - homes, churches, dance studios, and other rented spaces. Within the guide community, there are hundreds of experienced guides who can share their experience in finding a location.