Why Massachusetts Should Be a Leader in Encouraging Education Entrepreneurship and Innovative K-12 Learning Models. Policy Brief

JEM Learning is a new microschool community that provides families with a child-centered alternative to both traditional public and private schools. Microschools like JEM Learning are small, multi-age learning communities with paid educators that are reminiscent of the one-room schoolhouse model. They were gaining traction prior to 2020, but their popularity has soared amidst the education disruption of the past few years. In Massachusetts, numerous microschool collaboratives have sprouted, offering more individualized learning options and paving a pathway for a more bottom-up, decentralized education model. This policy brief urges Massachusetts policymakers to encourage the proliferation and progress of non-traditional models that offer families creative, flexible, personalized and low-cost private education options.