Microschools, usually with less than 30 students, are booming, reports Jackie Valley in the Christian Science Monitor. They may be “Montessori-inspired, nature-focused, project-based, faith-oriented, child-led” — or something else. They may be independent, partnerships or affiliated with provider networks, says the year-old National Microschooling Center, based in Las Vegas.

“For lots of people, schools just got too big,” says Michael McShane, director of national research at EdChoice. “They felt like they were a number. They did not feel like they knew the other people in their community.”

Researchers estimate that 1.1 million to 2.1 million of school-age children are in microschools, writes Valley. “On the low end, that would mean microschools serve an estimated 2 percent of school-age children.” That could grow to as much as 10 percent, predicts Don Soifer, who runs the NMC.

[One drawback is that regulators *may* have an easier reach to “microschools” than they do with home-schooling. When I guest hosted for Drew Mariani on Relevant Radio, I interviewed a person running a home-schooling support network that took a different approach by keeping the instruction in the homes rather than in microschool pools. Both will be interesting to watch. — Ed]