Last week, I presented at the National Microschool Center’s first annual founder summit in Las Vegas. As is typical whenever I connect with education entrepreneurs, I am filled with hope and optimism for the future of education, thanks to those who are building that future with new schools and spaces.
With an estimated 1 out of 10 US students now attending a microschool, at least one-third of parents wanting their children to attend one, and climbing rates of homeschooling and private schooling, it’s exciting to see us inch closer to FEE founder Leonard Read’s vision for a fully free market in education, defined by entrepreneurship, innovation, choice, and voluntary exchange.
Championing that vision is the key mission of our new Education Entrepreneurship Lab here at FEE, which I am honored to lead. I have shared some of our projects with you, including our new Enterprising Founder Award (the application deadline is next week!), our Entrepreneur-In-Residence program, the reboot of our Cole Summers Fellowship Program for teens who learn in unconventional ways (apply here!), and, of course, the twice-weekly LiberatED podcast—with over 250 episodes!
One of the things I am most enthusiastic about is the how-to library we are building for current and aspiring school founders and entrepreneurs. Think of the Lab as the Entrepreneur.com for education entrepreneurs, with practical and inspiring content and resources for founders and families alike.
Entrepreneur-In-Residence Tobin Slaven’s latest article this week is a perfect example of the kind of how-to pieces that will fill our Lab library over the coming months. In his article, the Acton Academy Fort Lauderdale school founder asks: “Ever wonder what makes some school startups soar while others struggle to get off the ground?” He shares 5 key habits that every founder needs in order to create a thriving school startup.
As Read reminds in his classic 1964 essay on the case for the free market in education: “While one cannot know of the brilliant steps that would be taken by millions of education-conscious parents were they and not the government to have the educational responsibility, one can imagine the great variety of cooperative and private enterprises that would emerge.”
We are now seeing those “brilliant steps” and that “great variety” of enterprises emerge!
If you would like to help us share more of these brilliant steps, and inspire the growth of this great variety of education enterprises, please join us!
Until next week,
Kerry
