Don’t Send Your Kids to a Private or Micro School This Fall.

The role of privilege in the war on education

COVID-19 has derailed many people’s educational plans this fall. From kindergarten to high school to graduate and post-graduate students, this fall is going to look completely different.

And for those in the K-12 school system, there have been whispers of other options — like micro-schooling and private education — as an alternative to the daunting task of distance and hybrid learning.

Let me preface this by saying that I don’t want to shame anyone. I understand that, as a parent, you might just want the best for your kid. You want them to be educated. You want them to learn. Distance and hybrid learning obviously don’t offer the same educational benefits as an in-person, 100% teacher-directed environment. There’s no debate about that.

Or maybe you even just want some time to yourself. No one saw this pandemic coming — including you — and maybe you just want to be able to work from home in peace, or go into work without needing to worry about your kids home alone doing online school. You don’t want to take on this new territory, nor do you have the energy to do so.

That’s totally understandable, too.

However, this notion that it’s OK (and even necessary) to broaden your child’s educational options just because you have the means to do so is completely wrong.

Let me explain.

Since US public schools began announcing their hybrid and distance learning plans for fall 2020, I’ve seen a huge amount of families opting for things like micro-schools and private education. To clarify, a micro-school is an arrangement in which a private educator is hired to teach the kids within their own curriculum, in their home, sometimes grouped with other children. It’s just that — a micro school — meaning that it operates as a school, but on a much smaller scale. To accomplish this, the kids are then taken out of the public school system and homeschooled within this micro-school. (Keep in mind that options like learning pods and tutors, which offer educational support rather than reframe the environment, are much different than micro-schools.)

In theory, a micro-school sounds like a good idea. Private school sounds like a good idea, too — for those that can afford it. To interested parents, it seems like a good way for their kids to continue getting a comprehensive education while continuing to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic.

But I’m begging you: don’t open a micro-school for your kids. Don’t send them to private school. Don’t change their educational situation because of the pandemic.

Here’s why.

It’s a privilege to start a micro-school or turn to private education — and you’re actively disenfranchising other kids by doing so.

Not every family has the money to turn to a micro-school or private education. In fact, a lot of vulnerable students can’t afford those options, despite being the ones who arguably might need them the most. We’re talking about kids from low-income households. The kids whose parents do not speak English and have difficulty helping them with schoolwork as a result. The kids who are undocumented and find safety within schools. The kids with single parents. The kids whose parents work full-time and can’t afford to be with them to support their distance or hybrid learning. The kids whose parents are healthcare or essential workers.

There are a million different situations I could rattle off, but I think you get the idea — there are people out there who need the support even more than you do. And though you may not realize it, you’re disenfranchising them even more by putting your kids into micro-schools and private schools. Your race, socioeconomic status, class, language, origin, family setup, etc. is affording you the ability to take advantage of these things, but those other vulnerable families don’t have the same capabilities, despite a huge need for them. And your kids, consequently, are put above the pack. They come out smarter, more supported, usually perform better on standardized tests, and advance their education simply because of their ability to move ahead, while the other students are forced to stay behind without access to any of these things, due to factors they can’t control. In the end, it perpetuates systemic racism and classism and worsens the inequities that are already plaguing our society.

Public schools cannot afford to lose enrollment right now.

As you’re probably well aware, public schools are drastically underfunded already. We also have an ignorant Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, who literally wants to defund them and funnel money into private institutions (like… what?!). Most public schools in the US are funded based on student enrollment — so that means that when the schools lose enrollment, they also lose funding. And funding in public schools isn’t distributed or given fairly anyway, so by losing enrollment and funding, they are losing the resources to support the most vulnerable students.

Especially during a pandemic, we need to prioritize those students. They are the students for whom the school is a safe haven. Maybe they are LGBTQ and aren’t accepted at home like they are at school. Maybe they are disabled and need one-on-one support. Maybe they have learning challenges or utilize the special education programs at their school and rely on that to help them learn. Maybe they struggle with poverty, domestic abuse, neglect, or trauma at home. Whatever the situation, we need to make sure that we’re thinking of these students when we make educational decisions because in the end, we’re ultimately hurting them — and they are the ones who cannot afford to be disenfranchised any more than they already are.

We cannot ignore these students. They need us right now, and so do public schools.

Social and cultural education are missing from micro-schools (and sometimes private schools, too).

Social and cultural education are more important than ever. We need to work harder than ever right now to offer diverse and inclusive teaching. A huge part of that is anti-racism work, which is highly difficult to perform in a micro-school. Even if it can be done, is it really changing anything? Is your kids’ worldview being broadened by it? Do they realize the irony of being part of a private or micro-school, learning about racism, and yet actively contributing to systemic racism because of their privilege to enhance their education during a pandemic while other children cannot?

Furthermore, there is a lot of social and cultural learning that is developed by attending public school. Generally, especially in urban settings, public schools are a lot more diverse. Students are exposed to tons of other kids who are similar to them, tons who are different than them. They’re exposed to classmates of all different backgrounds, and this facilitates acceptance and familiarity with each other that cannot be replicated in a smaller, privatized setting.

OK, so you shouldn’t make a micro-school or send your kids to private school. But what SHOULD you do?

1. Hire a tutor or start a learning pod with another family.

Hiring a tutor and starting learning pods (as I stated earlier) are VERY different than micro-schools and private education. With tutors and learning pods, the students stay in the public school system and do the same distance/hybrid learning work as every other kid, but tutoring and learning pods simply allow them to have extra support. Yes, tutoring is technically also a privilege. But it doesn’t systemically set kids above each other in the same way. They are performing the same tasks with the same teachers and learning out of the same curriculum. And fortunately, most public schools offer tutoring options for vulnerable students — so by hiring a tutor for your child, you’re not necessarily putting any kid above another. And by keeping your kids enrolled in public school, even with a tutor or learning pod, you’re still supporting the public school system. Good job!

2. Explore other options for keeping your kids busy during the day.

You want time to work! You want time alone! You are not prepared or able or comfortable with supporting your kids 24/7 when you thought they’d be at school! Yeah, that’s understandable. But trust me, there are a lot more options than micro-schools and private schooling. If you can afford either of those, you can probably afford to hire a babysitter, a daycare, a nanny share with another family, or enrollment in recreation programs that help out working parents during the day. There are plenty of fun, ethical, and reasonable ways to bring structure to your kids’ day while still allowing you to work or have time to yourself. Admittedly, this is a huge challenge, though, and I empathize with each parent who has to take on this new role of planning alternatives to the school schedule. For more information and options other than micro- and private schooling, check out this article below from the Los Angeles Times:

3. Continue to talk about social and cultural topics within the home — especially anti-racism.

This isn’t easy, either, but it’s necessary. If kids are going to be outside of the school buildings without a chance to see, talk with, and learn about one another in that setting, or have a teacher address it with them, it’s all the more important to make a habit at home. Schools cannot be tasked with all the responsibility to teach kids about social and cultural themes. And even if you are a working parent and don’t have the ability to sit down with your kids for hours at a time and talk about these things, there are plenty of other ways to discuss it as a family and integrate it into daily life, like podcasts, books, websites, articles, videos, et cetera. It’s crucial. Check out these articles from Chicago Parent about cultural and antiracism education resources and books if you need ideas:

4. Donate to public schools and vulnerable communities/families.

If you have the financial means to send your kids to private school or open a micro-school, you have the ability to make a donation. Public schools and vulnerable communities/families really need it. You could do it in itemized form, like donating meals, foods, hygiene products, and clothing to those who are in need. You could also donate money directly to public school districts, or donate supplies like sanitation products, school supplies for kids in need, extra masks, etc. And besides, schools could always use extras of products like markers, glue, pencils, paper, lab supplies, notebooks, technology, etc.

5. When you vote, elect officials who will fund and prioritize education.

A huge part of making change in the world is using our voices, and here in the US, one of the best ways to do that is by voting. Vote for those who cannot. Vote for those who are vulnerable. Vote for those who need it. Vote for your children, for their future. Research the policies of candidates in regards to education and when you cast your vote, keep education in mind. The more we care and learn about these issues, the more change will come.

As a society, we need to start prioritizing education.

That’s the bottom line. As a country, we only pretend to care about education. The financial discrepancies and lack of funding for public schools in the US are atrocious. And the pandemic has pulled the rug out from under everyone, including public schools, so if there was ever a time to come together and support them (and stick with it), it’s now.

If you’re a parent who truly cares about education and wants what is best for your child(ren) and for the future, it’s in your best interest to start showing public schools some love. If we play our cards right, we could truly reform, change, and enhance the system.

So, yes. I get it — you want to prioritize your kids’ education. You don’t want them to fall behind. You work or need time to be on your own and distance/hybrid learning is a barrier to that. I empathize. I’m not saying you’re wrong.

But I am saying that there are much better ways to go about this, and it’s going to be so much more helpful and meaningful in the long-term.

Yes, it will take extra work. Yes, it will take some sacrifice and compromise on everyone’s part.

But it will be worth it.

We will get through this — together.

MORE DISTANCE LEARNING RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES:

Follow the link below for more distance learning support, ideas, links, and resources. It’s updated frequently to fit the current learning plans for US schools. It won’t be easy, but we got this. :)