About SchoolHouse
What's a microschool?
The microschool is the reinvention of the one-room schoolhouse, where class sizes are small groups of 5-8 students and there are mixed-age level groupings.
What is SchoolHouse?
SchoolHouse brings the best parts of education to your home with excellent teachers, small class sizes, and a personalized curriculum. We provide all the tools you need to ensure that your children receive an enriching experience with greater flexibility and more personalized attention than traditional schools can offer - all in a safe and inspiring home learning environment.
Why does the teacher matter so much?
Think back to the best education experiences you've had, chances are you're thinking of a teacher. Research supports that teachers have the largest impact on student satisfaction and educational outcomes. SchoolHouse enables parents to choose the teacher that is right for them.
Who are the teachers?
We hire only the best teachers using a rigorous screening process. For every 1 teacher that we hire, we interview approximately 20 candidates. Our teachers have on average 8.5 years of teaching experience, often have advanced degrees, and come highly recommended by colleagues.
Where is the school located?
Learning can happen anywhere there is enough space for the students and the teachers. So far, our pods have taken place in backyards, around kitchen tables, in playrooms, and in community spaces.
What curriculum do we use?
Each class is uniquely responsive and learns to match the learning style, pace, and interest of each student. We support for every type of curriculum and certified learning method. We work with families to help them find what method best suits them, whether that's a Montessori approach, project-based learning, or STEM focused.
Health and Safety
Safety is our highest priority, for your family, the students we work with, and the teacher. We ask all teachers to follow all CDC, state, and local guidelines as it relates to COVID. Beyond that, each pod creates its own health agreement prior to starting, which we have all students, families, and teachers sign-off on.
Kirk V.
- ADD/ADHD
- Autism
- Behavior Analysis and Intervention
- Bible Studies
- Bilingual
- Drama
- Gifted and Talented
- Health/Nutrition
- Literacy
- Math
- Mindfulness
- Physical Education
- Reading
- Science
- Social Studies
- Spanish
- Special Ed
- Taught Abroad
Kirk V.
- ADD/ADHD
- Autism
- Behavior Analysis and Intervention
- Bible Studies
- Bilingual
- Drama
- Gifted and Talented
- Health/Nutrition
- Literacy
- Math
- Mindfulness
- Physical Education
- Reading
- Science
- Social Studies
- Spanish
- Special Ed
- Taught Abroad
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Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5
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Near Los Angeles, California
*30 years experience in international education in the United States, China, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, and Bosnia *K-8 Elementary Educator *K-12 Gifted Educator *K-12 Structured English Immersion *Grades 5-9 Middle School Specialist *K-12 School Principal and Administrator *K-12 PE Teacher *Grades 5-12 History and Social Studies Teacher *Bilingual in English/Spanish *International Swim Coach
Qualifications
- M.A. in Educational Leadership from College of New Jersey, Magna Cum Laude; PGCE in Education; B.A. in History with a Minor in Aerospace
- K-8 Elementary Teacher; K-12 Gifted Education; K-12 School Administrator; K-12 Structured English Immersion;
- Grades 5-9 Middle School Specialist; Grades 5-12 Physical Education; Grades 5-12 History; Grades 5-12 Social Studies
Teaching Philosophy
My greatest joys of working around the world have been with Early Childhood children and staff from 3-12 years of age. These are my favorite ages to work with. I like to organize, help others, problem solve, trouble shoot, bring people together, and above all learn in different ways with hands-on learning wherever possible, especially at younger ages. Learning by doing is the best approach. A combination of centers, old-school approach with non-tech methods, and integration of technology is best for young student learners. Young students today are digital natives. Those working with them must stay abreast of the software and technology that is available for use with them, so technology is an important piece to include in their education and learning environment. Field trips and outdoor environments are equally as important because students need to see how their community works and how they are a part of the greater community that surrounds and nurtures them on a daily basis. Having high expectations of everyone helps each student to be their best continually. Student safety throughout is paramount and supersedes everything else. The joy, smiles, laughter sense of awe, and joy make it all worthwhile as students and their teachers learn. This is what should be happening at schools every day. With the right teachers, administrators, support staff, and collaborative school community, all of this and more can happen every day. These are some of the things that motivate and inspire me to work with these wonderful age groups because they are such an inspiration and fun to be around on a daily basis.
How it works
What is Schoolhouse?
We started SchoolHouse with the intention of helping people start microschools because we saw that it was a better way to learn. That’s been our focus from the beginning and we’ve built the team with that purpose.
We are a team of teachers, school leaders and parents who are simply school nerds. We want to build the best schools in the world, only smaller and in your home..
Teacher Screening Process
We screen and vet every teacher thoroughly and accept between 5-7% of applicants. This is to ensure a high quality education across every SchoolHouse school.
We recruit teachers from a variety of backgrounds including private, public, and charter schools. We interview and offer competitive packages and small class sizes to attract top professionals.
Regarding Covid-19
Safety is our highest priority, for your family, the students we work with, and the teacher. We ask all teachers to follow all CDC, state, and local guidelines as it relates to COVID. Beyond that, we have all families and teacher in a pod agree on certain health guidelines and COVID protocols at the beginning of the pod so that there is not any ambiguity about what is expected.