Parents and students are increasingly seeking in education the variety and personalization that they enjoy in other areas of their lives—and education entrepreneurs are stepping up to meet this demand. They are launching or growing innovative schools and learning spaces, while embracing free-market principles to create a decentralized education marketplace defined by choice and abundance.
The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) has been championing free markets and entrepreneurship for nearly 80 years, and we are delighted to be spotlighting and supporting today’s innovative school founders through our semiweekly LiberatED podcast and new Education Entrepreneurship Lab. One of the most exciting programs we introduced this fall as part of the Lab is the FEE Enterprising Founder Award. Thanks to a generous donor, this award provides monetary prizes to three school founders who embrace free-market principles as they build their small businesses.
After receiving over one hundred applications, our team of judges selected Jessica Slayback and Victoria Forsman, co-founders of REALM in Santa Monica, California, as the winners of this year’s award. Mercedes Grant, founder of Path of Life Learning in Virginia, and Coi Morefield, founder of The Lab School of Memphis in Tennessee, were the two runners-up.
“What I find truly fascinating about the candidates in this Founders competition is their entrepreneurial spirit,” said FEE president Diogo Costa, who served as one of the judges. “By that, I mean their remarkable ability to innovate—not merely tweaking existing standards, but creating entirely new ones. They’re not just iterating. They’re inventing. What stands out even more is the sheer variety among them, reflecting the incredible plurality in this space. It’s inspiring to see such a diverse range of approaches and possibilities. The creativity and diversity on display here are exceptional.”
Founders Slayback and Forsman launched REALM in 2010 as a resource center for homeschooled children, offering daily à la carte classes and a vibrant learning community. Since then, they have served over 3,000 students and are expanding their offerings from the K-8 level into high school programming in the coming year.
“At REALM, we are driven by the belief that education should be a dynamic and personalized experience, and our entire model embraces free-market principles to achieve this goal. We operate outside of the constraints of traditional schooling systems, offering a learning environment that values choice, flexibility, and market-driven responsiveness,” wrote the founders.
Beyond their upcoming high school initiative, Slayback and Forsman are also plotting new service offerings, such as a parent co-working space and professional development workshops for educators, to expand their revenue sources. “By creating these diverse income streams, we align ourselves with the entrepreneurial values we instill in our students—diversification, adaptability, and community engagement,” they said.
While REALM offers a low-cost learning option for local homeschoolers, the center is also an approved vendor for several California charter schools that enable some families to use their charter-funds towards REALM classes, making their program even more accessible. About 15 percent of REALM’s revenue comes through this charter funding.
The judges appreciated REALM’s time-tested business model and ongoing efforts to iterate and expand, but they also acknowledged the ingenuity found in two newer microschools, Path of Life Learning and the The Lab School of Memphis. Former public school teacher Mercedes Grant launched Path of Life Learning in 2023, watching it quickly double in size from 30 students last year to 60 students this year. All of her students are registered homeschoolers, and many of them came to her microschool from a conventional public school. Coi Morefield is also a former public school teacher who launched her microschool in 2021. Coi’s Lab School is a low-cost, state-recognized private school that also serves homeschoolers. About one-third of her 60 students attend the school nearly tuition-free through a limited school-choice program for low-income students in Tennessee.
The entrepreneurial vision and tenacity of these winning founders—along with the other talented applicants in this year’s award cohort—are inspiring. Through their private enterprises, they are creating a new paradigm of K-12 education that is individualized, innovative, and responsive to the realities of the 21st century. Their experiences and entrepreneurial leadership are encouraging more parents and teachers to start their own schools and learning spaces, helping even more young people to thrive.
“These candidates aren’t just hypothesizing or sketching plans. They’re actively testing, experimenting, and refining their ideas. They’re engaging in a cycle of learning and improvement, which is what sets them apart,” said Costa of this year’s applicants.
Congratulations to our FEE Enterprising Founder Award winners, and to all of the education entrepreneurs across the US who are building the creative schooling options that families want.
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