Dr. Grauer's Column - The Start-a-School Revolution in America

The Start-a-School Revolution in America
By Stuart Grauer

The small school leader makes decisions with their heart, possesses a sense of empowerment that corporate and business systems managers may never fully understand, and lives in a kind of free-floating existence, in a community constrained only by its values, infused with energy only kids can provide.

First, we lived through a pandemic, and now we are seeing a flourishing of school designers like never before. Among them is Angel Sobrino, Jr., living the dream many educators and parents quietly nurture: the freedom to design education on their own terms. As the founder of The Hive Interactive Center™, a one-room schoolhouse (established 2020) tailored for neurodivergent youth (which is something like what we have long called “alternative”), Angel has created a learner-led world—similar to many home- and micro-schools, and like the founding of The Grauer School, where I am writing this decades later.

I have loved seeking out, befriending, and learning from small school founders all over the world through my work with the Small Schools Coalition. Last week, I met the fearless Angel in a webinar hosted by AERO (Alternative Education Resource Organization), whose motto is “Education Revolution.” AERO also published a book of mine called Fearless Teaching.

Angel’s schooling doesn’t stop (or start) at the schoolhouse. He also runs “Miles for the Mind,” a nonprofit organizing expeditionary learning reminiscent of The Grauer School’s early adventures up and down coastlines and deserts in our Chevy Suburban wagon. Angel’s trips—funded with thoughtful simplicity—take students to places like Florida’s beaches and the panhandle’s rocket labs, giving underserved kids the chance to explore, learn, and connect with the natural world. I tell him: “Visit schools wherever you go—your students will remember those connections better than almost anything.”

He personally fundraises for every expedition and seems to think nothing of it—no burden here, it’s only what he does, the quiet passion of opportunity and adventure. No setting off fireworks while leafleting in the streets, no driving horses into the foyer of an establishment theater performance, no Marxist theories sprouting out of coffeehouses… just working his natural trade and putting some food on the table for his family. That’s what the revolution looks like.

But freedom in education comes with questions. Many assume education is politics-free: you can create your own school, your way, right? Yet Angel’s vision is deeply political, reflecting his belief in education as empowerment for underrepresented and misunderstood communities, and for unique learners, which, in a perfect world, is all of us. His focus on equity and inclusion aims to make alternative education accessible to all families who feel they need it. State-provided Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and microgrants (EMAs) often fund his programs, empowering parents to tailor education to their children’s needs.

I admire Angel’s ingenuity, but I share my caution: "At our school, we avoid government funding to steer clear of the strings attached," I say. If Angel’s whole vision is for access and empowerment, does he really need the government to guide him? The rise of alternative educational models raises critical questions. Are we ready for a landscape where anyone can start a school, as easily as Uber lets anyone drive a cab? How do we protect the profession of teaching from "reckless drivers"?

Angel doesn’t romanticize the movement. He acknowledges the risks of unregulated freedom and the need for reliable funding. “And yet the rebel in me is still all about the freedom,” he says. I counter, “But if Pandora’s box opens, anyone with any motives could start a school."

The good news is there are leaders like Angel.

The Hive is a small, creative operation, reliant on fluctuating enrollment and a patchwork of ESA and EMA grants. This funding model, growing in the US, raises systemic questions: what happens when enthusiasm outpaces infrastructure, or when public funds slide into private initiatives, draining public schools? What about accountability? At least Uber and Amazon face public scrutiny—i.e., the marketplace. Is that where school evaluation is headed?

The stakes are higher for Angel, whose target population faces unique challenges. Let’s be clear on this: Angel is intentionally providing for the kids private schools normally shy away from, the ones that cost the public system the most.

To succeed, any school must articulate clear, measurable visions and demonstrate its effectiveness, but as parents and corporate chains move into this marketplace, few are skilled in educational evaluation.

Meanwhile, public schools already struggle with declining enrollment. Are we prepared for the proliferation of small, private or independent schools? Will these schools meet basic educational standards or show meaningful results? Angel is a seasoned educator with a broad background in the field. His work highlights both the potential and the risks of the start-a-school movement. His students gain life skills, resilience, and agency, but without oversight or guidelines (or a steady revenue source), uneven outcomes—or worse—are easy to imagine among his imitators unless they are accompanied by solid reporting (e.g., normed surveys, standardized testing, accreditation).

Starting a school is one of the most exhilarating acts of creativity and hope. It’s about reclaiming education for learners and families, but it also requires igniting the imaginations of supporters and building something sustainable. That’s why The Grauer School transitioned from a “private” sole proprietorship to an “independent” nonprofit corporation—though this may or may not be the answer.

The start-a-school movement is at a crossroads. The incoming US president’s administration promises to privatize education more, even to the extent of disbanding the US Department of Education. We face extraordinary opportunities to re-chart education, but change could take us into risky terrain. Success out there will depend on identifying true educational leaders—those who can articulate compelling visions and values, and demonstrate their translation into effective action. And those leaders must align all that action with persuasive accountability if they are going to unlock educational transformation we can trust.

Parents want more than visions but less than revolution. They simply want clear, accessible information about teachers and programs. They want safety, and simple results, reported. The United States ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015) emphasizes performance reporting and equity, but small, private or independent schools must also find ways to communicate effectively with families unfamiliar with data displays.

Angel exemplifies thoughtful, values-driven leadership setting out into some of that new terrain, and even relying on public transportation. His humility, creativity, and commitment shine through the Zoom screen along with the huge hive logo on his tee shirt, and he’s equipped to generate solid reporting for parents. But not every school leader will approach this with the same care and skill. In the rising wild west of education, we’ll have to strike a balance between freedom and responsibility/accountability.

When I was starting out as a public school teacher on Long Island, I kept envisioning, in the clouds, as I drove to work, the Alps. I saw the Alps. That was why I moved there to teach. And through a Zoom screen, I saw myself in Angel Sobrino, but with hippy hair and a colorful tee shirt. Angel envisioned a hive, and I understand what he sees buzzing: collaboration and interconnectedness, dynamism and activity. He sees structure with freedom as all creative and fearless school leaders and bees do, and he appreciates nature and ecology. He seems completely free to envision.

The small school leader makes decisions with their heart, possesses a sense of empowerment that corporate and business systems managers may never fully understand, and lives in a kind of free-floating existence, in a community constrained only by its values, infused with energy only kids can provide.

America’s embrace of educational autonomy is unparalleled, but freedom alone isn’t enough. Building schools that last requires more than passion or even allegiance to underserved kids—it demands foresight, collaboration, and a commitment to future generations.

He smiles with superb calm; America is still the land of the free in the field of education, and Angel is in his element.

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