I’m ready to pick up where my book left off, considering ways to make self-directed learning more widely available to students and families. In my final chapter, “Modern Education Reform: Where Does North Star Fit In?”, I reviewed several tracks for expanding our model. At this point, I am most interested in learning more about publicly-funded support for homeschooling and self-directed learning.

With North Star and Liberated Learners, I have been immersed in the world of privately-funded options for nearly three decades, primarily because I value the freedom and independence secured by this approach. I do not want to be in position of having to “make students produce work” or even “ensure regular daily attendance” with young people. I am resistant to having any strings attached to my work due to funding sources.

However, I see that the private funding model has severe limits. Some programs are fortunate to secure seed capital, angel donors, long-term donors (i.e. board members or founding members), or a stable fundraising model. Others rely on high tuition (more than what most local families can afford to pay) or low staff salaries. This challenge exists for all private schools and programs, not just Liberated Learners centers, and I know it is a tremendously limiting factor in spreading our approach. Many founders cannot sustain their projects or schools more than five years.

On the other hand, most public schools do not offer funds to homeschoolers, and most public school “alternative” programs have too many requirements to appeal to me. However, I am certain of one thing: there is a lot I do not know. I am aware there are many experiments in different states regarding funds for homeschoolers, and since the onset of the pandemic, I believe there are many new programs with which I am unfamiliar.

In my book, I wrote about Michigan’s public school “Partnerships” with homeschoolers, a model I find very intriguing and consider a starting point for my research. I believe that in some states, homeschoolers may attend a particular class or set of classes at their local public schools as a part-time student, an option that does not exist in Massachusetts. I know California and some other states offer vouchers or reimbursement funds to homeschoolers through public charter schools for homeschoolers. (I wrote about my reservations regarding vouchers, which I continue to hold, but I would like to learn more about the range of these options.) I know some schools are offering more virtual programs, though I don’t know the details of full-time or part-time (or even single-class) virtual models. I know some public schools are offering support for early use of community college through dual enrollment programs, but I don’t know how flexible these opportunities are in terms of credit load and course selection.

I would like to compile a state-by-state update for 2023 about what publicly-funded support exists for opting out of conventional schools. (My friend Blake Boles suggests I make this project international, as he is familiar with some very open-ended schools in western Europe.) I will be as non-judgmental and open as I can be in collecting this information, but here are some of my preferences:

• Few barriers to entry: programs are for any student or family, not just “high-risk,” “drop-outs,” or those in “low-performing districts.”
• Programs welcome students of all ages seeking an alternative to conventional classrooms.
• Minimum attendance requirements.
• Minimum curriculum requirements.
• Minimum evaluation that does not require more than the public school does for promoting students to the next grade. Preference for self-evaluations; resistance to standardized testing for evaluation.
• Maximum time and space for independent studies and out-of-building internships or work.
• Simple shifts in enrollment from these programs to age-and-grade-appropriate conventional school programs if desired by the student.
• Supportive coaching/mentoring for students and families.
• End goal of GED or other credentials that do not require attending through 12th grade.
• Support for transitions to college and formal training programs.
• Support for transitions to non-college options, including work, travel, and entrepreneurship.

Non-judgmental status by the school and community for students in these programs compared to students who remain in the conventional system.

Overall, I’d like to see many open-ended options for students offered at no-cost by public schools staffed by people receiving the salaries and benefits of public school teachers. Where is this happening now? Where are the experiments moving in this direction? Who and where are the public school administrators open to these ideas?

Please tell me what you know, and please connect me with the people you know! I will provide updates along the way. Thank you.