Parents turn to "pods" as a schooling solution

“I think parents have been doing some version of this pod thing with young children anyway, but not on this kind of scale and not for this reason,” said Steve Barnett, senior co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research.

How it works: The idea is homegrown, meaning that pods can really look however their creators want them to.

One way it works is that several families with kids in the same grade agree to form a “pod” and hire a tutor or teacher at home during the workweek. Costs vary, but can top $1,000 per month, according to The Washington Post.

For families with preschoolers, often it’s a babysitter, like a nanny share, but with several families pooled together.