Demand for new schooling models continues to climb, and entrepreneurial educators plan to grow to meet that demand. That is the key takeaway from a recent survey of school founders conducted by our team here at FEE’s Education Entrepreneurship Lab.
This spring, we asked the 200+ applicants to last year’s FEE Enterprising Founding Award to complete a survey about the status of their innovative schools and learning spaces, including private schools, microschools, hybrid schools, homeschooling collaboratives, and online learning platforms. More than 70 school founders responded, offering eye-opening insights about the current landscape of emerging schooling models and its future direction.
Below are some of the main findings from this survey:
First, when asked how demand for a founder’s school or space has changed in the past year, nearly half of survey respondents said it increased significantly and another third said it increased somewhat. Only 1% of founders said that demand declined.
Second, and not surprisingly based on the nearly 400 interviews with school founders on the weekly LiberatED podcast, more than two-thirds of today’s school founders are former professional educators, with more than half having worked previously as public school teachers.
Third, roughly half of founders currently participate in a school-choice program, and more than one-quarter of additional founders are planning to participate in such a program. Some 11% of founders are uncertain about participation, with many of these entrepreneurs unsure whether or not their learning environment will be eligible as school choice programs expand.
Finally, growth is a primary goal for the majority of today’s founders. Nearly 40% expect to expand their programs in the next three years. An additional 28% of founders expect to replicate their programs in new locations in three years, and another 10% hope to help new founders to start their own schools.
It’s an exciting time in American K-12 education, as demand for innovative models grows alongside the expansion of school-choice programs and entrepreneurial educators build the supply of schools and spaces that families want.
Visit the Education Entrepreneurship Lab’s website for regular articles on finding or building innovative schools.
