Inside the Microschool Movement: What Parents Are Saying (Part 1)

Editor’s Note: This is the first of two blog posts we will be releasing over the course of the summer that will weigh in on the unique themes within the survey. The complete slide deck with full results will become publicly available by late summer. With that, let’s dive into some of the topline results.

The rise of microschooling in America is becoming hard to ignore. A 2025 sector analysis done by the National Microschooling Center put it well, “With a current market share at approximately 2% of students nationally, microschooling’s growing popularity can likely be expected to continue to influence policy frameworks to modernize to better support families seeking these innovative small learning environments.”

In a collaborative effort to better understand the microschooling experience, EdChoice and KaiPod Learning conducted a survey (in the field March 3-28, 2025) of parents whose children are currently enrolled in KaiPod’s network of microschools. Kaipod Learning is a national network of microschools, helping to connect families with microschools as well as helping educators start microschools. The survey profile, methodology, and questionnaire are accessible as well.

The survey was built to examine different, yet essential, aspects of microschooling parents’ perspectives.

Demographics of Microschoolers

What does the survey tell us about today’s microschooling family? More than half (51%) of survey respondents say their child is in kindergarten through fifth grade. Nearly one-third (32%) of the respondents have a child in middle school, while only 17% are in high school. The overwhelming majority of microschooling parents (77%) report that their child is enrolled part-time in a microschool, compared to only 23% who are enrolled full time.

The household income of microschooling families is relatively representative of the average family income in the United States. Roughly half (46%) of microschooling parents report that they make less than $100,000 in household income annually. Nearly one-third (31%) say they make between $100,000-$150,000, while 24% report earning more than $150,000 annually.

Logistics and Cost

What are the costs and logistics associated with microschools according to parents? According to our survey, microschooling parents are quite pleased with the facilities and schedule for their child. An overwhelming majority of microschooling parents report that the schedule for their child at their microschool is working well (96%), while another 87% said that the facility is working well for their child. Only 10% of parents felt that the microschool’s facility is not working well for their child. When asked about transportation to the microschool, 69% of parents said it is working well for their family. Nearly one-fourth of parents respond “don’t know” or “no opinion”, with another 10% reporting that transporting their child to their microschool is not working well.

Just under half of microschooling families (43%) felt the costs of their child’s microschool were “about right,” reflecting the value many families see in this model. While 32% of parents say costs were “somewhat high” and 13% feel they were “very high,” the overall sentiment shows that a healthy share of families view microschooling as a worthwhile investment.

Path to Microschooling

What types of schools did microschool students previously attend? Nearly half of parents (48%) say their child was homeschooled before enrolling in a microschool. Another 30% reported that their child transitioned from a public district school. Smaller shares indicate their child previously attended a private school (9%) or a charter school (7%). Just 2% say their child came from another microschool showing how many new parents are entering this sector.

Parents cite a range of reasons for leaving their child’s prior school. The most common reason is concern about school or class size, mentioned by 35% of parents. Other frequently cited reasons include an overwhelming workload or academic pressure (31%), safety concerns (30%), and challenges with peer groups or other students (28%). Additionally, 24% pointed to a lack of character development or moral education, while 22% expressed dissatisfaction with the curriculum.

Sense of Community

Microschool parents were asked to describe the sense of community at their child’s school. A majority (57%) say the sense of community is strong, including 21% who describe it as “very strong.” In contrast, just 9% of parents feel the sense of community is weak. Nearly one-third (29%) are neutral, saying it is neither strong nor weak.

This strong sense of community may be encouraging greater parental involvement. When asked about their level of engagement in their child’s education at their microschool, two-thirds of parents say they are at least “very involved.” Notably, 26% report being “extremely” involved. Only 7% say they are “not that involved” or “not at all involved.

Safety was one of the top reasons among microschool parents as to why their children switched from their previous school. We asked microschooling parents how safe their child feels at their microschool and the results were overwhelmingly positive. More than nine in ten microschooling parents (94%) report that their child feels “extremely” or “very” safe at their microschool, compared to only 1% that said their child feels “not that safe” in their microschool.

Opportunities and Personalized Learning

The growing popularity of microschools can be attributed, in part, to parents’ desire for personalized learning for their child and to gain access to opportunities that may not be available within an assigned public district school.

Parents are very bullish about the opportunities for their children at their microschool. Two-thirds of parents say their child’s microschool provides consistent opportunities for extracurricular activities, compared to only 20% of parents that feel there are not consistent opportunities for extracurricular activities. As for opportunities for socialization, a whopping 92% of microschooling parents feel there are consistent opportunities for socialization.

Parents’ sentiment in our survey towards personalized learning reinforces part of the appeal of microschools. Nearly 75% of microschooling parents feel their child’s learning experience is either “extremely” or “very” personalized at their microschool. Only 5% of microschooling parents feel that their child’s learning experience is “not that” personalized. These insights from the EdChoice and KaiPod survey of microschooling parents underscore the growing appeal of microschools as a viable alternative to traditional schooling, particularly for families seeking a more tailored, responsive, and safe educational environment for their children. Over the next few weeks, we will continue to examine the results of this survey including topics such as curriculum, challenges, microschool educators, and more.

Read part 2 here.