Education Next
Growing learning environments between traditional homeschooling and conventional schooling, known as “microschools” and “hybrid schools”, lack a term that captures their breadth. These schools, often described as “unconventional” or “alternative”, are created by teachers, families, communities, and education entrepreneurs, and are influenced by homeschool laws, education savings account programs, and societal desire for bespoke education. The author proposes the term “community crafted schools” to describe these institutions, emphasizing their local, crafted nature and their alignment with communities of interest. The term could unify this growing sector and help them retain their original mission.