Microschool to open in Kyle to aid homeschooling families

KYLE — After homeschooling her children for more than a year, Brittany Lerma knew that she wanted to offer other parents the same flexible option.

Lerma created a microschool, called In the Moment, to assist families with their homeschool journey and to create a safe space for children to learn at their own pace. The drop-off program offers classes for children ages 5-7 that focus on art, science, movement and cooking while also offering individualized tutoring for children in curricula chosen by their parents.

“I just wanted to be able to do something where I can homeschool my own children, but also help families who wanted to homeschool as well. I’ve talked to a lot of families who either didn't know how to homeschool or how to get started or they just don't have the mental capacity to do it themselves,” said Lerma. “So, a microschool is a great way for parents to homeschool their kids, but a lot of the work would fall on the teacher that is running the microschool.”

Lerma believes bringing a microschool to the Kyle/Buda area is something that is needed in the community, especially for younger children.

“There are a lot in Austin, but the one or two that I found here are for older kids. So, I know they weren't really offering a lot for 5-to 7-year-olds or 5- to 8-year-olds. My daughter is currently going to be seven and with homeschooling, for me at least, I don't really group it up by grade. I kind of group it up by age. I just realized that there wasn't really a lot for that age range and so I wanted to try to cater to that,” she explained. “[I wanted to] offer a program that is drop-off because there's parents who are looking to drop off or they kind of want to see how it goes and volunteer. That's also an option where parents can volunteer, or they can stay a couple of days and see how everything goes.”

This type of school offers a smaller, flexible and adaptable environment that is geared toward meeting each individual child’s learning needs, according to the National Microschooling Center.

Every microschool is different. Lerma said that she’s seen some that go Monday through Friday and have more extracurricular activities, including science and field trips. But she is looking at having her school for a shorter period of time.

“For me, it's not an all day thing. It's three hours a day, three days a week. Some schools offer more days. And I think we just really emphasize more on socialization than science and art. The core subjects like math, language arts and things like that, I offer tutoring. Families come in with their own curriculum that they're already using, or I can assist with helping choose the curriculum, and we just carve out about an hour where I'm just working one-on-one with the child. And it does offer that smaller setting, so there's no more than five to six kids. So, that's what makes it different from a public school where you have 25-plus kids in a classroom and you don't really get that individual attention. With a microschool, you get that individual attention and you're working at the child's pace.”

Lerma is still ironing out the details on the time slots that will benefit the most families, but she is looking at potentially having the program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Knowing that some families do not have much wiggle room financially, the cost is $175 per month and there is a $75 annual supply fee.

She is anticipating opening the microschool, which will be run out of her home,  in late October or early November.

Parents who are interested in enrolling their child in the microschool or who want to learn more can email Lerma at [email protected].